A Cambridge-based MassChallenge finalist is developing technology that can be used to produce clean, affordable water for drinking and for use in multiple industries.
With two professors from Notre Dame and Purdue universities, Anfiro founder and CEO Jaime Mateus is working to create better reverse-osmosis membranes than are currently available to desalinate water.
"In current membranes, water goes through a long, curvy path like a sponge to come out the other side, leaving the salt and any impurities behind. But it requires a lot of pressure because the path creates resistance to the flow of water," Mateus said.
"The membrane we're developing selectively allows the passage of water, which goes through a straight tube so that it doesn't require as much pressure," he said. "And because our membrane is so much more permeable, the overall price will be less than the $400 to $1,200 current membranes can cost."
The technology has a wide range of applications, from oil and gas to mining, pharmaceuticals, microelectronics and power generation, Mateus said, but it's most important use will be to produce clean drinking water.
The 2030 Water Resources Group, a consortium of organizations from the private and social sectors, projects that by 2030, there will be a 40 percent deficit in the supply of fresh water. And the World Health Organization has called poor water quality a "major threat to human health."
"It's a problem of staggering magnitude," Mateus said. "So if we can develop the best membrane technology, we can provide better water for tomorrow."
Mateus became interested in entrepreneurship with a social impact while he was in graduate school at MIT. He began working with William Phillip of Notre Dame's College of Engineering and Bryan Boudouris of Purdue University's Department of Chemistry, and the three incorporated in February and entered MassChallenge, a startup accelerator and competition.
Last month, Anfiro was among 128 companies selected as finalists out of a field of more than 1,600.
"It's a great accelerator program, and the timing is perfect for us," Mateus said. "We've completed most of our research. We've shown this can be done."
Currently, Mateus is working to raise seed funding, which will allow him and his co-founders to set up a lab and hire people to create a prototype.
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