De.mem generates first revenues from hollow fibre forward osmosis water treatment
With its hollow fibre forward osmosis water treatment technology, De.mem is targeting the multi-billion dollar food and beverage, and industrial waste water treatment markets.
De.mem (ASX: DEM) has achieved $150,000 in accumulative revenue since commercialising its hollow fibre forward osmosis (FO) water treatment technology in March 2018.
The company has now begun scaling up the technology with customer interest growing.
“With a minimum cash burn, De.mem has managed to build up a proprietary technology portfolio in record time that is gaining excellent market recognition,” De.mem chief executive officer Andreas Kroell said.
“Our FO technology is part of this portfolio, patent protected and unique in the industry.”
“We have validated it with customers and are now witnessing very solid interest for larger industrial solutions,” Mr Kroell added.
Hollow fibre forward osmosis markets
De.mem’s FO technology was developed at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and its for de-watering applications in industrial waste water treatment.
FO uses a semi-permeable membrane to separate the water from dissolved solutes via osmosis.
According to De.mem, the technology is easily manufactured and scaled up. It can also be used in the food and beverage industry for applications like concentrating fruit juice, milk or other beverages.
In the food and beverage space, De.mem is working with Aromatec Pte Ltd in Singapore and owns 32% of the company.
The duo is targeting the food and beverage market which is worth about US$5.8 billion in the Asia Pacifica region, alone.
Meanwhile, in the industrial waste water treatment market, De.mem’s technology can replace current zero liquid discharge processes with this segment worth about A$400 million per annum.
“The addressable market for this technology alone is very large particularly in the industrial waste water treatment and food and beverage sectors in the Asia Pacific,” Mr Kroell noted.
“The IP carries substantial value and it gives De.mem a major strategic advantage.”
“We are building on the growth and uptake of this unique and highly appealing water technology solution,” he added.
Backing the company earlier this month, was non-executive director Bernd Dautel who acquired 800,000 shares in the company for $100,000 via an off-market transaction.
De.mem’s share price rocketed more than 22% on the news to reach $0.135 by mid-morning.