Breakthrough Water Technology Company of the Year
Water Planet
What is it?
The developer of innovative low-pressure and high-pressure membrane solutions for tough-to-treat feedwaters.
What has it done?
2016 saw Water Planet arm itself with a world-class sales team, forge several strategic alliances, and bring two game-changing technologies to the market: an artificial intelligence-based membrane control system (IntelliFlux) and PolyCera, a membrane with ceramic-like performance but at the cost of a polymeric. As part of a three-year, 100-unit deal with an OEM, the company sold its first two units to leverage the virtues of each technology to brilliant effect on off-grid domestic wastewater.
What makes it special?
The PolyCera membrane brings a formidable new player into the low-pressure membrane market: in 2016, Water Planet achieved product sales in the US, Canada, China and India. PolyCera, based on Nobel Prize-winning chemistry, offers high hydrophilicity, permeability, and the robustness of a ceramic membrane, but at the price point of a polymeric. This is a compelling new proposition for clients with tough-to-treat waters who are unwilling to splash out on high-cost ceramics.
In 2016, Water Planet made its first US sale of an IntelliFlux-powered ultrafiltration system as part of a three-year, 24-unit deal with Air Liquide. The IntelliFlux software offers an AI-based adaptive flux optimisation control mechanism for membrane systems, which performs real-time monitoring and data analytics to fully optimise performance, significantly reducing operational costs.
Water Planet’s successes have been nurtured by a laser-sharp focus on innovation, as well as teamwork and a culture where every employee is encouraged to put their ideas forward. Founded only five years ago, the company has made a mockery of the traditional protracted technology commercialisation process in the water sector.