ZwitterCo develops zwitterionic membranes that deliver unprecedented immunity to organic fouling, extending membrane life and performance in challenging water streams. Its technology targets high-strength industrial wastewater, surface water, and food process streams to drive sustainable water reuse and reduce chemical use. Over the past two years ZwitterCo’s products have been ordered or installed at more than 50 industrial facilities across North America, Europe, and Asia, with customer examples including 80% fermentation wastewater recycling, 400,000 gallons per day of clean water generation at an RNG facility, and a 10% increase in water production at a power plant. The company recently commissioned an Innovation Center at its headquarters near Boston and says it will use new funds to accelerate international expansion and rapid advancement of its technology platform. ZwitterCo positions its membranes as critical for industries in the low-carbon transition to reliably and affordably access unconventional water sources while lowering operating costs and downtime. The company emphasizes the role of its technology in addressing growing water scarcity driven by climate change. ZwitterCo leverages patented zwitterionic copolymers to produce advanced membranes designed to repel organic fouling and address tough wastewater separation challenges. Its first product, a superfiltration (SF) membrane introduced in 2021, targets challenging industrial wastewaters for treatment and reuse. Since launching the SF, the company has booked over a dozen commercial projects and completed dozens of successful pilots across digestates, leachates, O&G-produced water, poultry & dairy, bioprocessing, and food & beverage wastewaters. ZwitterCo also pursues novel process applications where fouling recovery and ruggedness are essential, such as protein extraction from bio-fermentation. Led by co-founders Alex Rappaport (CEO) and Chris Drover (CTO), the company is building a suite of membrane products that bring precision and reliability to historically underserved markets. The company raised $33M in a Series A to support product development and scale commercial deployment. ZwitterCo provides hydrophilic, fouling-resistant membranes that can filter process water and wastewater rich in fats, oils, proteins and other hard-to-remove organics. The company targets applications in bioprocessing, agricultural waste treatment, food and beverage, and other industries where standard membranes foul and degrade. ZwitterCo was spun out of Tufts University and founded in 2018. It is actively demonstrating its technology in seven processing plants across North America while preparing to scale operations to support full commercial deployments. The company recently closed a $5.9 million Series Seed financing to complete final field testing, expand commercial production, and support its growing list of customers and channel partners. ZwitterCo has also received recognition and funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the National Science Foundation, and is an alumnus of Imagine H2O and Greentown Labs.

Total raised

$97M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Jul 2024