While human and animal consumption of water is significant, heavy industry accounts for up to half of global water use. In response to increasing drought conditions, industries are exploring new methods to recycle water efficiently. Key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, textiles, mining, renewables, and power are heavy water users. Companies are now focusing on cost-effective and energy-efficient water reclamation technologies.
The global water and wastewater treatment market is projected to reach $500 billion by the end of this decade, according to Statista. Traditionally, this market relies on harsh chemicals and high energy consumption. However, firms like Xylem, Veolia, and the Boston-based startup Gradiant are pioneering efforts to reduce costs and energy use while eliminating the need for chemicals.
Gradiant, co-founded by Anurag Bajpayee and Prakash Govindan in 2013 as a spinout from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), offers a breakthrough approach to water purification. Gradiant’s technology replicates the natural rain-making process. Contaminated wastewater is heated and introduced into a humidifier, where it interacts with ambient air. This interaction generates vapor, leaving contaminants behind. The vapor is then transferred to a column with cool, clean water, where it condenses into fresh water, similar to how rain forms from clouds. This method reportedly recovers 99% of water, significantly more than the 50-60% recovered by conventional technologies, and cuts traditional costs in half.
Gradiant, the first water purification unicorn, boasts an impressive client list, including Coca-Cola, BMW, Pfizer, and Adnoc. The company claims to save 1.7 billion gallons of water daily—equivalent to the consumption of 48 million people. In the first half of this year, Gradiant secured over $500 million in new orders, highlighting its strong growth potential.
“Scaling these technologies is challenging. It’s easy to develop a product, but creating a comprehensive end-to-end solution is much more difficult,” said Mark Danchak, co-founder of General Innovation Capital Partners, an investor in Gradiant. The company, also backed by Warburg Pincus, M&G Investments, Formation 8, Clear vision Ventures, and GRC, has raised $228 million to date.
