PhD, Ohio State University
Research Asst. Professor, Colorado School of Mines
James is PWR's founder, CEO, and lead engineer — the person who built the company, designs the treatment systems, and runs the operations in the field. He doesn't manage projects from a desk. He's on site.
James holds a PhD in Environmental Health Sciences from Ohio State and is a Research Assistant Professor and Managing Director of the WE2ST Water Technology Hub at Colorado School of Mines — a 10,000 sq. ft. R&D facility focused on produced water treatment, PFAS, and industrial water reuse. He bridges the gap between research-grade chemistry and commercial field operations in a way that pure equipment providers can't replicate.
He founded PWR in 2020 and has been operating continuously since. His DJ Basin operation has saved operators over $100,000/month through onsite recycling while consistently meeting target water quality specs. Prior to PWR, James consulted at Jacobs Engineering on oil and gas water projects and contributed to GWPC-sponsored produced water research across multiple basins.
His current operations include 10,000 BPD of produced water filtration in the DJ Basin. He completed a 600 BPD Permian desalination pilot in 2024 — the only field-validated mobile desal system at surface-discharge quality — and is now in contract discussions with Occidental Petroleum and ExxonMobil for 2026 commercial operations.
James's PhD research at Ohio State focused on produced water treatment, flowback characterization, and hydraulic fracturing wastewater — published across five peer-reviewed studies. As a Research Assistant Professor at Colorado School of Mines, he leads the WE2ST Water Technology Hub, an industry-academic research center focused specifically on produced water and industrial reuse.
This isn't academic theory applied to the field. It's field problems solved with research-grade rigor — the combination that lets PWR achieve results that equipment-only providers can't match.
PWR holds patents on its core treatment technology — the same process demonstrated in the Permian pilot and now running at commercial scale. This IP creates a durable technical advantage that commodity OFS providers can't replicate by purchasing more equipment.
The patent covers the specific process innovations that enable continuous treatment to surface-discharge quality at field economics — not just lab conditions, but real wells, real water, real throughput.
Dr. Tzahi Cath is a Professor at Colorado School of Mines and one of the world's foremost researchers in membrane desalination, osmotic processes, and produced water treatment. His lab has produced foundational work in forward osmosis, membrane bioreactors, and advanced water reuse that directly underpins PWR's treatment technology.
Dr. Cath's advisory role gives PWR direct access to the cutting edge of desalination science — ensuring our treatment programs reflect the most current understanding of membrane performance, fouling mechanisms, and produced water chemistry across different basin formations.
We're not a call center. When you reach out to PWR, you talk directly to the engineer who will be running your job. No account reps, no layers. Just the person who knows your water and knows how to treat it.
