News & Events

Don’t Miss The Chance To See More Than 20 Shale Energy Innovations On Display!

PITTSBURGH, PA – On May 18, 2016, Ben Franklin’s Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center (www.sgicc.org) will award four $20,000 prizes to this year’s contest winners. In addition to showcasing the 12 finalists, this year’s Final’s Event will also feature a Poster Contest highlighting research related to the oil and gas sector at four major regional research universities. As an added bonus, ten companies will also display their innovative products or services during a reception that follows.

This exciting event and reception will be held from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe, PA. Those who attend this FREE EVENT will also hear from Bill Hall, SGICC Director, followed by a keynote address by Joe Frantz, Vice President of Engineering/Marcellus Shale Division of Range Resources Corporation.

The audience will learn about innovations from companies offering a broad range of tech products and services including water and waste management solutions, production optimization tools, gas sensing and other monitoring methods, tools to increase productivity and enhance site EH&S performance, plus novel strategies to increase gas utilization. 

The Poster session will feature research being undertaken at Carnegie Mellon University, Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and West Virginia University. There will also be a panel discussion by three previous contest winners. Each will provide an update on their progress and provide insight into how they tackled critical challenges faced as startup companies seeking to support the shale energy industry.

Visit http://www.sgicc.org/finals-event-2016-shale-gas-innovation-contest.html to register and to see the list of finalists and exhibitor companies.

This 5th Annual Shale Gas Innovation Contest’s GOLD sponsor is the Ben Franklin Technology Partners (http://www.benfranklin.org). Industry sponsors include: Chevron Technology Ventures (http://www.chevron.com/ctv/ctvi/), EQT Corporation (https://www.eqt.com), First National Bank (www.fnb-online.com), GE Transportation (http://www.getransportation.com/), LPR Energy (http://www.lprenergy.com/), LPR Land Services (http://www.lprls.com/), the Marcellus Shale Coalition (http://marcelluscoalition.org), PPG Industries (http://corporate.ppg.com/), Praxair (www.praxair.com), Steptoe & Johnson PLLC (http://www.steptoe-johnson.com/ ), and Williams (www.williamsinthenortheast.com). Non-Profit sponsors include: Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation (http://www.cmu.edu/energy/), Penn State University’s Institute for Natural Gas Research (http://www.ems.psu.edu/INGaR), the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Energy (http://www.engineering.pitt.edu/cfe/), and West Virginia University’s Energy Institute (http://energy.wvu.edu/). And the Media sponsor for this year’s event is the Marcellus Business Central (http://www.pabusinesscentral.com/).

About the SGICC

The Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation and Commercialization Center (www.sgicc.org) supports and commercializes early-stage technologies that enhance responsible stewardship of the environment while properly utilizing this energy asset.