Pods on the seafloor produce crystal clear water

US-based water-tech company OceanWell secured €10.5 million in Series A funding to help scale its energy efficient modular deep-sea reverse osmosis desalination solution.

Seafloor desalination farm

OceanWell has developed a deep-sea solution that utilises an array of ‘pods’ that harness the natural hydrostatic pressure found at depths of 400 metres to drive reverse osmosis desalination.

The company estimates that each pod can produce up to one million gallons of fresh water daily, removing salts, bacteria, viruses, pesticides, and PFAS to produce 'ultra-clean' water.

The modular design means that each project can be scaled according to need and is built to withstand the rigours of a deep-sea environment.

Robert Bergstrom, founder and CEO of OceanWell: “We’ve developed a new technology to rehydrate a drying world. Our goal is to provide utility-scale, reliable and sustainable freshwater solutions that can supply clean drinking water to communities across the globe.”

He added: “We're grateful to our investors whose collective expertise across water technology, manufacturing and infrastructure project development will be invaluable to our company, and particularly as we look to scale up operations in the coming months.”

Testing grounds in California

OceanWell has called its modular pod solution a water farm. The company's first farm is being developed in California, USA, where the company is based.

The first prototype was tested at the US Navy's Deep Ocean Simulation Facility, before partnering with Las Virgenes Municipal Water District to establish California's first water farm. The aim of this first farm is to provide fresh drinking water to a region recovering from years of record-breaking drought.

With the support of a working group of 24 state water authorities in California, and with the Series A funding, the company has the immediate ambition of building 15 water farms around the world.

Energy savings and city quenching

The first water farm is expected to produce 220,000 m3 per day of fresh water, with the company estimating that a large farm could supply the fresh water needs of an entire city.

By using the natural pressures of the ocean, the company estimates an energy saving of 40 per cent compared to traditional desalination methods, while eliminating toxic brine disposal.

Patent-pending intake systems filter the seawater through multiple layers of fine screens (<500 microns) at low velocity. This prevents clogging and allows small organisms to pass the through safely.

The energy consumption of one farm is expected to be 2 Kwh per day, less than half that of a refrigerator.

Series A funding backers

The Series A funding round was led by Kubota Corporation, a global infrastructure manufacturer that has been increasing its investment in cutting-edge water technologies in recent years.

Eiji Yoshioka, director and GM of the Water and Environment Infrastructure Consolidated Division of Kubota told media: “One of Kubota's goals is to provide comprehensive solutions for the entire ‘water circulation loop’ from water production and supply to wastewater treatment and reclamation. OceanWell’s innovative technology, which can provide a stable long-term supply of potable water to water utilities in water-scarce regions, is indispensable for achieving this goal.”

Other backers included the family office of Jon Hemingway of Carrix Ports, and Charles McGarraugh, former head of metals trading at Goldman Sachs.