Meknology

Meknology, Inc. develops and sells a patented wastewater treatment and upcycling system aimed at beverage producers such as breweries and distilleries. The system processes spent wash, stillage and wastewater — streams high in BOD, COD and TDS/TSS — on site, recovering dried distillers' grains (DDGs) for animal feed, phosphorus-enhanced biochar fertilizer, and water treated to potable standards for reuse in cleaning, cooling or closed-loop wash systems.

The company positions the system as an alternative to hauling, tipping fees and third-party treatment, addressing wastewater discharge and stillage-handling regulations, on-site storage and odor constraints, and the labor diverted to waste logistics. Systems are offered in modular, scalable configurations sized from microbreweries to larger distilleries, with remote monitoring and service support, and the company also offers waste pickup options for space-constrained breweries. Founder Daniel Hodges describes broader potential applications of the technology beyond beverage wastewater, including polluted rivers, PFAS-contaminated groundwater and lead-affected municipal drinking water.

Founding story

Founder Daniel Hodges, born in 1974 in South Haven, Michigan, graduated from Covert High School in 1992, earned a mechanical engineering degree from Michigan State University in 1997, and completed a master's in mechatronics, robotics and automation engineering at Lawrence Technological University in 2012. After product design roles at companies including Ford and Whirlpool, he was working as a design engineer at plumbing products manufacturer BrassCraft during the Flint water crisis, which he cites as his motivation to work on water technology. In 2019, while an expert-in-residence at the Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, he assembled a team of Lawrence Tech engineers to enter a global water-scarcity competition; their entry desalinated 10 liters of water at a time using wind and solar power and cost about $60 to build. COVID-19 restrictions prevented testing in the target market and the team did not win, but Hodges scaled the concept toward broader municipal and industrial water treatment.

Business model

Meknology sells or leases the hardware and software of its water purification systems to brewers and distillers. It also markets recovered products — grains and fertilizers — to buyers, offers a resale and profit-sharing program under which it handles sale of the customer's recovered outputs, and solicits equipment and component suppliers.

Revenue is generated from equipment purchase or lease of the treatment systems, sales of recovered outputs such as DDGs and biochar fertilizer, a resale and profit-sharing arrangement with customers, and waste pickup service options.

Traction

The company sells or leases systems to brewers and distillers in Michigan and partners with a third-party logistics company to sell recovered solids. It states that most customers see a return within 12 to 24 months depending on waste volume and resale value of recovered products. Kalamazoo Forward Ventures is reported to have invested in the company.

Latest developments

As of October 2025, Hodges was working with brokers from Kalamazoo Commercial Real Estate to identify a Kalamazoo location, with the stated aim of making the city a center for sustainable water innovation.