MIT's The Engine has returned to back membrane-based separation technology spinout Via Separations, after previously investing an undisclosed sum in 2017.
Via Separations, a US-based industrial filtering technology spinout of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), today closed a $4.8m series A round featuring The Engine, a $200m venture fund and incubator linked to MIT.
The round was led by investment group Safar, and also included philanthropic association Prime Coalition’s Impact Fund, as well as state-owned development agency Massachusetts Clean Energy Centre (MassCEC), VC fund Embark Ventures and unspecified additional investors.
Founded in 2016, Via Separations creates membrane-based products for separating industrial liquids, with the goal of supporting more energy-efficient means of separation than the distillation-based methods widely used at present.
The company believes the products will provide better temperature stability, as well as resistance to solvents and tolerance to oxidants, for applications in segments including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, paper and chemical production.
The membranes are based on a compound known as graphene oxide, which is formed from a combination of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. The spinout is targeting a full pilot of its approach in 2020, and expects to be able to retrofit existing industrial distillation systems with the technology.
Via Separations grew out of MIT research conducted in the lab of Jeffrey Grossman, the Morton and Claire Goulder and Family professor in environmental systems and a professor of materials science and engineering.
The spinout was one of seven so-called “hard-tech” companies backed by The Engine in September 2017, though the size of its contribution was not disclosed.
Shreya Dave, co-founder and chief executive of Via Separations, said: “There is embodied energy in everything we use, and the majority of that energy and cost comes from the separation steps in manufacturing. Improving the energy efficiency of separations is huge on its own.
“But we can also change the source of the energy used in separations from fossil fuels to renewable power, removing a costly liability for manufacturers.”
