NEW DATES FOR 2026
The Best of Energy and Environment Innovation in One Place
THE SHARKS
_edited_edited.png)
KEVIN KUDRA
Kevin Kudra is the Executive Director for Rockies Venture Club (RVC), the longest running angel investor group in the US. Rockies Venture Club a non-profit organization furthering economic development in Colorado by connecting investors and entrepreneurs through conferences, networking events, educational offerings and facilitation of investment.
TIM JONES
COO @ Innosphere Ventures
Innosphere accelerates the success of high-impact science and technology-based startup and scaleup companies. Innosphere’s incubation program focuses on ensuring companies are investor-ready, connecting entrepreneurs with experienced advisors, making introductions to corporate partners, exit planning and accelerating top-line revenue growth.
Tim is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt.
RON BRUSH
Angel Investor, KRZH Holdings
Founder of Life Works Project, an online marketplace where low income people can showcase their handmade products to earn extra income and grow their skills.
Ron collaborates and invests in game-changing people and companies who apply data-driven technology solutions to make the world a little better.
Ron is specially interested in Machine Learning, energy and transportation infrastructure, GIS and Cloud.
THE ENTREPRENEURS
JON JONIS
Jon Jonis has extensive experience in the manufacturing industry, specializing in natural gas treatment and processing. He has successfully managed operations across multiple countries in Southeast Asia. Jon combines his international operational expertise with innovative leadership in the biosciences sector and is currently the COO of Green Steel Environmental. Education: Rensselaer Polytechnic University, BS in Mechanical Engineering
CURTIS PURRINGTON
Curtis is the CEO of Austere Environmental. Curtis has eight years of experience as a Military Flight Test Engineer, spent eight years in the USAF and he completed his PhD in Space Resources at the Colorado School of Mines and has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Curtis is a leading industry expert in volatile extraction for mining, oil and gas, and lunar space resources.
_edited.png)
JOANNA OSTRUM
Johanna is currently Chief Operation Officer at Gradient Geothermal, a geothermal technology and development company focused on heat waste in the oil and gas industry. She has 18 years of experience within the oil and gas industry in a wide variety of engineering, regulatory, policy, and management positions. With a degree in Geological Engineering from Montana Tech, Johanna has brought an intradisciplinary and collaborative approach to every position she has held. With various roles at Noble Energy, SM Energy, and Extraction Oil & Gas, and Clean Air Task Force, Johanna has contributed to every part of the energy development value chain.
THE PITCH
GSE Green Steel Environmental provides patented products for wastewater treatment plants to clean their wastewater and renewable natural gas in an economical and environmentally positive way. We upcycle an industrial by-product, use it to sequester important nutrients from renewable natural gas and wastewater, and recycle those nutrients as fertilizer.
Currently, plants use toxic elements like ferric chloride to remove harmful elements from wastewater. GSE, alternatively, upcycles (nontoxic) leftover steel slag to treat the water, offering US wastewater facilities a safer, planet-friendly alternative - representing a $1.6B market.
Moreover, these same treatment facilities also release biogas that contains sulfur, which
GSE steel slag also removes (leaving pure natural gas). This represents a second $.9B
market. Governments are now tightening wastewater regulation, representing an additional tailwind for GSE.
Austere Environmental specializes in remediating soils contaminated with petroleum products, such as
jet fuel, diesel, and crude oil. Our technology can be used on-site to extract hydrocarbon contaminants
from soil after road-side accidents, onshore pipeline leaks, and from drill cuttings. The extracted
hydrocarbons are contained and the decontaminated soil can be returned to its natural environment.
At Gradient Geothermal, we're revolutionizing the energy landscape with our cutting-edge geothermal technology. Our mission is to reduce emissions in the oil and gas sector by generating clean, emissions-free electricity.
Gradient Geothermal provides modular geothermal power equipment to the oil and gas industry to help them generate emissions free electricity on site, chill produced fluids, and reduce overall emissions. By repurposing existing oil and gas wells or utilizing existing production, we provide a capital-efficient solution that bridges the gap between traditional energy production and the clean energy transition.