Low Energy Desalination Startup Gets Major Funding
As places like California endure their worst drought conditions since 1977, now would be an excellent time for science to step in and tap into a new source of drinking water. Thankfully, Yale researchers Rob McGinnis and Dr. Menachem Elimelech have built a low energy desalination system that might finally make drinking the ocean a feasible alternative. Oasys, the scientists' Connecticut-based startup, claims to be able to convert seawater into drinking water for half the price.How exactly do they achieve that? That's a trade secret, of course, but appears to have something to do with using a low heat method for sucking salt and contaminants out of water. The company's proprietary "Engineered Osmosis" process reportedly consumes only 10% of the electricity and fuel used by a conventional desalination plant. Water production is already the largest drain on California's energy grid. Oasys recently ended a fundraising campaign that brought in $10 million, so I guess their idea sounded as good to venture capitalists as it does to drought-ridden Californians and Central Texans.
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