Engineering technology start-up Salinity Solutions has signed an agreement with a leading water process solutions manufacturer, Te-Tech Process Solutions to start production of bespoke water treatment units containing its “revolutionary” water purification technology. Te-Tech will manufacture and market Salinity Solutions’ patented, batch reverse osmosis technology, which is said to deliver significant advantages over conventional reverse osmosis technology. The firm says it could potentially benefit more than 20 sectors across the globe, ranging from municipal wastewater treatment to high-value mineral extraction, healthcare, food processing and industrial waste, to agriculture and rural drinking water.
Water treatment consumes 4% of the world’s total electricity production and conventional reverse osmosis* systems are traditionally energy intensive. However, Salinity Solutions has developed a more sustainable, low energy and environmentally friendly approach that reduces both carbon footprint and operating costs to make drinking water more affordable and accessible. Its game-changing, batch reverse osmosis technology, uses 50% less energy, purifies up to 98% of the water and generates 80% less waste than conventional methods, while it is also compact and easily transportable. Salinity Solutions’ SAM50 is the first batch RO product in the world to be manufactured commercially.
Tim Naughton (27), co-founder of Salinity Solutions, said: “Signing this agreement with Te-Tech is a pivotal moment for us on our path to commercialisation. After over ten years of research and development of our pioneering, low-carbon technology, we’re excited to now be able to start taking orders and producing systems for our customers’ needs.”
Te-Tech COO, Ashton Dewey, said: “We at Te-Tech are always looking to expand our portfolio of cutting-edge technologies and this agreement is a significant, exciting, positive milestone as we introduce a new and innovative product to our customers.”
Salinity Solutions’ game-changing technology was co-developed by Tim Naughton (age 27), while studying mechanical engineering at Aston University and later at the University of Birmingham, working alongside Professor Philip Davies, Head of Water Technology Research.
Tim co-founded Salinity Solutions in 2021 to commercialise a more sustainable, energy-efficient solution for water treatment, in a world where 80% of wastewater is released untreated. His passion for water treatment is founded in a very real concern: only 0.5% of the earth’s water is in the form of available fresh water, the kind we need to survive and the demand for freshwater is on the increase while the world’s supply is steadily decreasing. 40% of the world’s population live in water stressed areas.
Salinity Solutions’ CEO, Richard Bruges said: “We are excited to be working with Te-Tech as we scale up production to meet the demands of customers across a wide range of municipal and industrial water treatment applications including water re-use, ultrapure water production, mineral extraction, brine minimisation and effluent treatment. Te-Tech’s reputation and expertise in the municipal and industrial wastewater markets will provide us with the support and resources to grow our manufacturing and distribution and to rapidly accelerate the growth of the business that we started just two years ago.”
Since it was founded, Salinity Solutions has raised over £1.5m from private sources and two rounds of funding on Crowdcube, where it smashed its target for fundraising. The University of Birmingham is an investor and shareholder, and the two parties continue to work closely together. One patent has already been granted and four more are in the pipeline. The company has held successful field trials with eco-mining company, Cornish Lithium and forthcoming customer field trials include municipal water, food processing and seawater desalination.
* Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a process where water is purified by pumping it through a semi-permeable membrane. Conventional RO uses a lot of energy as the pumping energy is lost when the water passes through the membrane. Salinity Solutions says its technology more than halves the energy used, with the help of a patented combination of a pressure exchange vessel and advanced recirculation control, developed from theory to reality over 10 years of research at the Universities of Birmingham and Aston.
