Waste-to-energy startup planning $42M plant, 259 jobs

A startup company based in Tennessee plans to invest $41.9 million in a waste-to-energy manufacturing plant in Mooresville that it predicts will employ 259 people by 2030.

ZrO Waste Group is in the process of developing a technology that will help customers convert waste into usable energy in the forms of heating, cooling, refrigeration, hot water and electricity, said Kegahn Hopwood, executive vice president.

He said the company has secured a lease on two buildings in Mooresville, spanning a total of about 33,000 square feet, to start its production facility. He did not say where the buildings are located. A temporary office is located at 245 Indianapolis Road.

The company is eligible to receive up to $2.5 million in conditional tax credits if it creates the promised number of jobs, according to a copy of the contract posted Wednesday on the Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s online portal.

The jobs including manufacturing, assembly, testing, management, installation and service technicians, Hopwood told IBJ. He declined to provide a pay range.

The private company, based in Franklin, Tennessee, is developing a modular unit about the size of the pickup truck bed that it said can help customers convert medical, food, construction, agricultural or industrial waste into reusable energy.

“It allows the waste conversion to happen onsite providing the usable energy directly back to the host building,” Hopwood said in email to IBJ.

Hopwood studied construction engineering and management technology at IUPUI, according to his LinkedIn page.

The company’s operating units are ZrO Waste Services LLC and ZrO Waste Manufacturing LLC.