Market:

Global freshwater is becoming increasingly scarce, but unconventional resources such as ground brackish water, seawater and industrial wastewater are costly to procure and operate. Active Membranes’ technology substantially reduces the cost and footprint of these processes. Because it can be applied to any membrane-based water treatment system, at any scale from household point-of-use to large commercial plants, the combined market opportunity exceeds $20B.

Technology:

Active Membranes’ technology synthesizes an electrically conducting film on top of already formed membranes — a coating that can be applied to microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis and membrane distillation systems. Initial offerings target the last two types, for water desalination and softening. Membranes are packaged as drop-in replacements for existing systems, enabling noninvasive retrofitting. Customers will then buy the company’s membranes to replace old ones or use new membranes in new plants.

Advantages:

• Prevents scaling and fouling
• Recovers more water
• Minimizes pretreatment requirements
• Less complex with smaller footprint
• Drop-in replacement for existing plant

Development Stage:

• Prototype

Select Publications:

• The future of fresh water is bright | UCLA Newsroom

Contact:

Website: activemembrane.com

Graduated in 2024

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