Team: Via Separations | Origin: Massachusetts | Participation: NSF I-Corps Participant 2016
Via Separations makes a new membrane to enable a new industrial filtration process that could help transition from an energy-intensive thermal separation to a more efficient, mechanical separation. Via Separations is testing its membranes made from nanoscale fragments of graphene oxide on energy-intensive evaporators used in the pulp and paper industry. Via Separations’ membranes could better filter water from the wood pulp, last more than one year whereas current filters only last minutes, and potentially save customers millions of dollars per year. The MIT-spin out raised $38 million in October 2021.
“NSF helped us refine our vision, figure out if our technology could be used for different applications, and helped us figure out if we can manufacture our technology in a scalable fashion – taking it from an academic project to a real–scale commercial project.” Shreya Dave, CEO, Via Separations
