This week I was a little behind the eight ball, mainly due the seasonal colds that seem ubiquitous and so I only scanned our BlueTech Analyst alerts Friday, instead of Monday as is my norm.
I was very glad I did, as there were quite number of things that I would not want to have missed.
Sweetch Energy secured a €25 million investment for developing osmotic energy systems generated by the difference in salinity when freshwater and seawater sources meet.
The funding will be used to finalize a demonstration unit in partnership with Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR), expand research and development, and construct industrial assembly lines.
Why I found this interesting? First, I just absolutely love the idea of Osmotic Power. If it takes energy to desalinate water, of course, when a river meets the sea, its a battery. The theoretical minimum energy to desalinate seawater is 0.77 kWhr/m3, and equally, its the theoretical maximum energy available when they are mixed.
I visited first ever full-scale osmotic power plant in Norway where a majestic fjord entered the ocean, ten years ago. BlueTech analysed Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO) in detail. It was essentially a spiral wound RO plant, run in reverse, with an energy recovery device.
Sweetch is Reverse Electrodialysis (RED), similar to REDstack BV. Victor Hugo, the French poet and novelist, said, “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come”. Osmotic power may be approaching that moment. Excited to see the project go live!
Emerald Technology Ventures invested in Indra as part of a $4 million funding round, marking Emerald’s first investment in India.
Very interesting for a number of reasons. One, this UpLink – World Economic Forum company presented at DAVOS 2023, a nice early success story from the emerging accelerator program led by Anna Huber, Morgan Booher and backed by HCLTech.
Its Emeralds first investment into India and this technology caters to the fast growing industrial niche, that has also attracted major groups such as Toshiba. We were delighted to feature a number of new Indian innovations at our Innovation Pavilion at Aquatech including Exposome, with its unique functionalised adsorbent chemists. I was impressed with the team, its a differentiated and economically viable product.
XPV Water Partners acquired Texas-based ABASCO INC, enhancing its portfolio in water screening solutions and containment barrier solutions.
Perhaps not the sexiest of areas, but where there is muck, (or in this case screenings), there is money. Particularly as utilities have to cope with storm surges and the collected detritus of humanity that it delivers to the door treatment plants which are only as good as their first line of defence.
