Whether it is cooling in power plants, cleaning machinery, or facilitating production in sectors like manufacturing and energy generation, water is a significant input for heavy industry. In fact, industrial purposes account for nearly 40 percent of global water consumption in high-income countries, according to data from the World Bank. Now, one startup is developing a technology to help the world’s essential industries minimize their water footprint. 

Gradiant, a clean tech startup specializing in sustainable water solutions, has emerged as a key player in the global water and wastewater treatment market. The Boston-based firm is helping companies optimize their water usage across a range of water-intensive industries, including pharmaceuticals, textiles, chemical production, renewable energy, and food and beverage. 

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Gradiant’s portfolio of proprietary water purification technologies includes Reverse Osmosis Infinity (ROI), which delivers continuous, high-efficiency water filtration and desalination. This system utilizes a semi-permeable membrane to effectively remove ions and other unwanted molecules and pollutants from water. Additionally, their Carrier Gas Extraction (CGE) thermal evaporators, featuring innovative bubble columns and thermodynamic balancing, excel in resource recovery and the treatment of high-salinity wastewater. 

CGE imitates nature’s rain cycle—specifically, the stages of humidification and dehumidification—to recover water from highly contaminated sources. It also slashes costs by half compared to conventional thermal technologies, while ensuring that 99 percent of water is recovered for reuse (standard water reclamation systems rarely recover more than 90 percent of water, depending on the method used), the company claims.

Other patented technologies include Selective Contaminant Extraction (SCE) for difficult-to-remove pollutants and Free Radical Oxidation for the elimination of non-biodegradable organics like plastics and metals from wastewater. In March, Gradient delivered a turnkey water treatment solution for a large integrated petrochemical and refining facility in Malaysia. The mobile treatment system processes 3.6 megaliters of demineralized water per day and incorporates Gradiant’s SCE and ROI technologies.

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Recently, Gradiant secured a $6 million grant from Singapore’s National Water Agency (PUB) to design, build, and operate a demonstration-scale low-emission desalination process facility. The company will leverage its SmartOpsAI technology, an AI-powered platform for optimizing plant performance, to improve energy efficiency at PUB’s Desalination Integrated Validation Plant. The complex is expected to be operational by the end of next year, according to a press release.

Founded in 2013 as a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Gradiant achieved unicorn status last May following a Series D funding round led by BoltRock Holdings and Centaurus Capital that raised a record $225 million. Pharmaceutical juggernauts Pfizer and GSK, global drink powerhouses Coca-Cola and AB InBev, multinational mining corporation Rio Tinto, and semiconductor manufacturing giants TSMC and Micron round out Gradiant’s A+ client roster.

The capital from the funding round will be used to drive Gradiant’s expansion into new regions like the Middle East and Europe, as well as to advance Gradiant’s research and development efforts. The company’s total funding to date is now $392.4 million, based on the latest financials from Crunchbase. 

“This investment is a testament to Gradiant’s proven track record of rapidly inventing and commercializing water technologies to make a real difference in the economic and environmental footprints of our industrial customers,” said Anurag Bajpayee, Co-Founder and CEO of Gradiant. “BoltRock and Centaurus share our vision and bring smart, long-term capital that will help Gradiant grow into the world’s most impactful water company.”

Faced with growing water scarcity, water technology startups like Gradiant are offering end-to-end, advanced solutions to help decarbonize the world’s leading industries and ensure sustainability across the water value chain for generations to come.

Nathalie Voit is a freelance content creator and a graduate of the University of Florida. She is an alumni of The Heritage Foundation’s Young Leaders Program.  

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.