Veolia, NanoH20 partner on membrane technology

France’s Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies is teaming on a five-year partnership to test and pilot Los Angeles-based NanoH20’s thin-film nanocomposite membrane technology in a variety of seawater conditions.

The companies announced the collaboration at the International Desalination Association's World Congress 2009, going on this week through Nov. 12. Financial details were not disclosed.

Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies is a subsidiary of Veolia Environnement (NYSE:VE), which provides environmental management services, including water and wastewater services, as well as environmental, energy, and transportation services.

Despite recent advances, desalination is energy intensive and remains an expensive source of freshwater. NanoH2O is addressing that, using nanotechnology to create advanced membrane materials.

By inserting, with few modifications, its nanocomposite membranes into a typical water treatment facility’s system, it aims to make the purification process considerably more efficient and cheaper to run—thanks to the membrane’s enhanced productivity—while still maintaining acceptable salt rejection levels.

The company has reportedly been testing a version of its membrane technology at the U.S. Navy’s Port Hueneme location in Ventura County, Calif., as of early 2008, which has proved to have stable performance and can withstand conventional cleaning.

NanoH20 recently made The Guardian and Cleantech Group’s 2009 Global Cleantech 100 list (see 2009 Global Cleantech 100 and Surprises abound in first Global Cleantech 100 ranking).

Last year, the company raised $15 million in Series B funding for research and development and to help commercialize its technology (see NanoH20 gets $15M funding round).

Earlier this week, San Leandro, Calif.-based Energy Recovery unveiled new desalination technology at the IDA World Congress that it says essentially doubles the workload of its latest device (see Energy Recovery launches new desal tech at IDA World Congress).

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