Clean Energy Ventures and Pentair lead financing to accelerate the commercialization of Aqua Membranes’ water and cost-saving technology in the reverse osmosis market.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. September 22, 2020 – Aqua Membranes, the developer of a patented 3D Printed Spacer Technology® for water filtration, announced today it has secured $2.1M of financing. Led by Clean Energy Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage clean energy innovations, and Pentair, a leading water treatment company, the financing will provide capital to accelerate the production of energy-saving water filtration technology that will revolutionize membrane water filtration.
“The nexus between water and energy is critical now more than ever, and we’re excited to support the Aqua Membranes team in their mission to dramatically lower the energy requirements and cost for purified water globally,” said Temple Fennell, Managing Director and Co-founder of Clean Energy Ventures. “Aqua Membranes is the most impactful water filtration solution that has entered the market in the last 30 years, and we believe this technology has the potential to mitigate 2.5 gigatons of C02 emissions between now and 2050.”
Aqua Membranes’ patented 3D Printed Spacer Technology® seamlessly integrates into existing reverse osmosis (RO) systems to increase system capacity, lower capital costs, and reduce operating costs. By replacing existing feed mesh spacers used commonly in reverse osmosis elements with a customized 3D printed resin that adheres directly to the membrane surface, Printed Spacer Technology® significantly reduces pressure drop and increases membrane surface area in spiral-wound elements, improving product performance for desalination plants, food and beverage industry operations and industrial processes.
“Reverse osmosis water filtration is utilized in almost every industry we encounter daily, from power plants to home drinking water to food and beverage and chemical manufacturing. Every day, 277 gigawatt-hours of electricity are used just to convert seawater into 25 billion gallons of drinkable water,” said Craig Beckman, CEO of Aqua Membranes. “Our cutting-edge technology provides an enormous opportunity to reduce the energy requirements for the world’s purified water needs across all sectors.”
Pentair, a leading water treatment company, is also an investor in Aqua Membranes. “Our collaboration in Aqua Membranes aligns with our innovation roadmap and has the potential to provide our customers with more sustainable and lower cost water treatment solutions. We’re excited to be working with Aqua Membranes and the team at Clean Energy Ventures to commercialize this technology to help deliver cleaner water to consumers while minimizing the impact on the environment,” said Phil Rolchigo, Ph.D., Pentair Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.
With the funding, Aqua Membranes will continue to advance the development of its manufacturing technology and speed commercialization in the food and beverage and residential RO markets.
About Aqua Membranes
Aqua Membranes is revolutionizing membrane water filtration with its unique dimensional polymer which is applied directly to flat sheet membranes to create a customized raised pattern that replaces conventional extruded mesh feed spacers. This Printed Spacer Technology® is proven to significantly reduce pressure drop, increase membrane surface area in spiral-wound elements, boost permeate flow, and reduce membrane fouling. For more information, visit www.aquamembranes.com
