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Freshwater sources are rapidly dwindling as demand from agriculture and urban growth outstrip nature’s ability to replenish. OceanWell, based in Menlo Park, Calif., has developed a modular desalination system that can be planted more than a thousand feet underwater to harness the ocean’s gravitational pressure for on-demand freshwater.
The reverse osmosis process filters out salt, bacteria, pesticides, PFAS and other harmful contaminants to make the water suitable for drinking.
OceanWell’s Series A funding will go towards setting up its first sea-based “water farm” with the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, a utility in Calabasas, Calif., where more frequent droughts have exacerbated freshwater shortages.
Each of the water tech company’s modular pods are expected to supply up to one million gallons of freshwater daily. “Our goal is to provide utility-scale, reliable and sustainable freshwater solutions that can supply clean drinking water to communities around the globe,” said OceanWell’s Robert Bergstrom.
Energy efficient
Most current desalination methods are energy intensive and produce brine waste that is harmful to marine life and coastal ecosystems. By using the ocean’s natural gravitational force, OceanWell lowers energy consumption by up to 40%. The process does not rely on chemicals that generate harmful brine. OceanWell’s goal is to build 15 freshwater farms globally over a decade.
Investors in the new round include Japanese manufacturing and water infrastructure firm Kubota Corp., former Goldman Sachs executive Charles McGarraugh, and the family office of Jon Hemingway.
