Among the various water consumers globally, heavy industry consumes up to half of the world’s water resources. The business sectors are now seeking innovative methods to recycle water, particularly in light of escalating drought conditions.
Some of the most crucial industry sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, textiles, mining, renewables, and power, utilize significant volumes of water. Presently, emerging enterprises are discovering ways to recover and reuse water as cost-effectively as possible.
The global market for water and wastewater treatment is projected to hit half a trillion dollars by the end of the decade, according to Statista. A substantial portion of current methods involves harsh chemicals and significant energy consumption. However, companies like Xylem, Veolia, and the Gradiant startup based in Boston are striving to minimize costs, energy usage, and eliminate the use of chemicals.
“We treat highly contaminated wastewater containing solvents, dissolved salt, and organics, and remove all liquid waste,” shared Prakash Govindan, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Gradiant.
Anurag Bajpayee and Govindan established Gradiant in 2013 as a spinoff from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Gradiant’s technology imitates the natural process of rainfall creation. Wastewater undergoes heating, then pumped into a humidifier, and blended with ambient air. Through this interaction, they are heated into vapor, leaving pollutants behind. Using their proprietary technology, the vapor is then transferred to a column containing clean cool water. When the two mix, the temperature decreases, producing fresh water droplets similar to rain formation in a cloud. As per Gradiant, this method slashes conventional costs in half.
“While other technologies may reclaim around 50 to 60% of water, we can recover up to 99% of water,” Govindan added.
Gradiant stands as the pioneer water purification unicorn. Their client portfolio includes major companies like Coca-Cola, BMW, Pfizer, and Adnoc. The company asserts to conserve 1.7 billion gallons of water daily, equivalent to the consumption of 48 million individuals. In the first half of this year alone, they secured over $500 million in new orders, highlighting their appealing growth pattern to potential investors.
“Expanding these technologies poses challenges. It’s relatively simple to develop a product, but creating a comprehensive end-to-end resolution for customers is far more arduous, and this is precisely what Gradiant has accomplished,” noted Mark Danchak, a co-founder at General Innovation Capital Partners, a Gradiant investor.
Additionally, Gradiant has secured backing from investors like Warburg Pincus, M&G Investments, Formation 8, Clearvision Ventures, and GRC, having amassed a total funding of $228 million to date.
This insightful article was enhanced by the contributions of the adept producer Lisa Rizzolo.
