The problem

Water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource globally, meaning that the treatment of waste water is now one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges. Industries from agriculture to chemical manufacturing to mining all have considerable impacts on our supply, polluting waters with PFAS (AKA ‘forever chemicals), metals, and other harmful pollutants. 

Treating wastewater comes with a number of challenges. For one, it’s costly. Existing technologies like Reverse Osmosis (RO), UV, and Ion Exchange are resource-intensive, expensive, and require several stages of integration. 

Moreover, many of these solutions focus on individual chemicals or certain metals, forcing utility companies to adopt and integrate multiple solutions, adding complexity and cost.

With increasing regulatory pressures, and a growing spotlight on water as a resource, this issue is only expected to grow. And by 2030, the annual cost of sustainable water treatment is expected to exceed $1 trillion. 

The solution

Elateq is introducing a vital innovation to the waste water treatment market, integrating multiple treatment processes into one electrochemical unit. 

Rather than requiring multiple stages (like most existing systems), Elateq combines these multiple functions into a single unit. This not only means that it is considerably less complex, it also requires less energy (more than 80% in energy savings) and leads to considerable cost savings. 

Moreover, the technology is flexible and scalable, allowing for applications in diverse markets such as municipal wastewater, industrial effluent treatment, desalination, and lithium extraction from brines.

Why we’re excited to invest

Olivia Brooks, Head of Investments at Blue Action Accelerator, says: "The water treatment industry is highly fragmented - with various solutions that capture waste minerals, remove harmful PFAs, or simply focus on purification. What Elateq have built is a compelling all-in-one adaptable solution that addresses multiple challenges across industries. Founders Lily and Rod are a formidable team real scientific and water industry expertise alongside commercial acumen, demonstrating their ambition to capture not just one multi-billion dollar market, but several."