It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it: ERTH, a Longmont, Colo.-based startup that manages the development and sale of wastewater treatment and destruction technologies, is raising $2 million for its fifth close on its first round of funding from private investors. It has already successfully raked in half of that amount.
With freshwater becoming an ever-scarcer commodity — many are already dubbing it the “next oil” — companies are increasingly investing in technologies that treat and recycle used water for irrigation or drinking. ERTH’s three primary technologies — its centrifuges, advanced chemical oxidation systems (ACOS) and volume reduction systems — reduce, treat and dispose of a variety of municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes.
It claims its ACOS reactor, which is currently under development, will eliminate over 99.9% of organic wastes by using a specialized oxidation process. Thanks to a unique design, ERTH says its line of centrifuges offers higher efficiencies, easier maintenance and more flexibility over competitors in processing large amounts of waste. When combined with its volume reduction systems, the centrifuges can produce clean water. Its volume reduction technology has the added benefit of producing highly enriched fertilizers from the separated wastes. The company is also exploring combined technologies that would convert these separated wastes into biogas, a methane-rich form of renewable energy. The company is currently testing a commercial-scale version of the technology.
The flow of cash into the water and wastewater investment sector, which has been slow in the last few quarters, is likely to pick up steam in coming months as more businesses and governments begin investing in these technologies. We recently saw Global Water Resources, a wastewater utility, file for a $50 million IPO and have seen state and local governments, eager to push water conservation, fund recycled water and toilet-to-tap projects in California.
