The path an innovation follows to make the leap from the laboratory to the market is not without challenges. Academics who have developed a technology usually lack business experience. On the other hand, the ability to secure private funding for this type of project — in very early stages and with solutions that have not yet been tested beyond the scientific realm — is limited.
This is where public administration funding instruments for early-stage companies and to facilitate technology transfer come into play. In Catalonia, one of the most prominent aids is the Startup Capital from ACCIÓ, the agency for business competitiveness of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and one of the companies that has received this boost in recent years is Ecomemb.
Membrane Regeneration
"We began to develop and validate the technology we commercialize during my postdoctoral stage, with projects oriented towards industry (Tecniospring from ACCIÓ) and market validation (INNOVADORS from Agaur). During this period, we carried out several technical validations in industrial settings with companies such as Telwesa and Infinitum to check if the solution could gain market acceptance, and we concluded that it could," explains Raquel García, CEO of Ecomemb. After the model was validated, Raquel founded the company in collaboration with the LEQUIA research group from the Universitat de Girona and the Institut Català de l'Aigua (ICRA).
The solution developed by Ecomemb achieves, through a chemical process, the regeneration of reverse osmosis membranes for water treatment. These materials are widely used to filter wastewater in industry or saltwater in desalination plants.
With this technology, the company has launched a first business model, which consists of treating membranes to extend their useful life so that companies can continue to use them for longer. The second business model that the company will integrate is based on regenerating membranes from one industry and commercializing them to a company in a different sector that can still use them (a membrane may not be suitable for desalinating water, but after treatment, it can serve as a wastewater filter, for example).
First clients
The result is that Ecomemb's clients achieve a reduction of between 40% and 60% in their spending on membrane replacement. "For now, we have detected that our solution is especially interesting for industries. Desalination plants acquire these membranes on a large scale and can buy materials at very competitive prices, but industrial companies can experience great savings with membrane regeneration," says García.
The startup based in Girona was founded at the end of 2022 and already has some clients, such as the wastewater treatment company Telwesa (Girona) and the Infinitum golf course in Vila-Seca (Tarragona), two of the companies that had participated in the technology validation process. In addition to Raquel García, the Ecomemb team includes Xavier Guillem as commercial director, with extensive experience in the water sector with companies such as Suez; and Pau Vilardell, as production technician. "Now, with the complete team, we are in a position to exponentially increase the number of clients," concludes the CEO.
Ecomemb is in full development phase, and plans to close a financing round soon to accelerate its growth. For the moment, it has launched a production center in Girona, where it carries out the treatment of reverse osmosis membranes. Its intention is to continue with expansion first in Spain and then internationally ---with priority in Mediterranean countries--- and to open centers geographically close to its clients.
Startup Capital and Tecniospring, an initial boost for emerging companies
Startup Capital is direct aid for startups that develop their own technology and need financing to overcome the initial phases of their business and develop their product or service. The grant can be up to 100,000 euros and must be used for justifiable expenses such as personnel, investments in materials and equipment, space rental, the development of communication strategies or similar actions. More than 120 companies have benefited from the aid.
On the other hand, Tecniospring is an international talent program from ACCIÓ that offers companies and technology centers the opportunity to develop transformative projects through the hiring of qualified research personnel.
Within the framework of this initiative, since 2013 almost 200 companies and entities have been able to hire 200 researchers to carry out R&D and innovation activities. Pacheco was able to join the TECNIO Lequia center thanks to this aid, and as a result of the research project, the spin-off Ecomemb was founded. The TECNIOspring, TECNIOspring PLUS and Tecniospring INDUSTRY programs have been financed by the European Union's FP7 and H2020 research and innovation programs under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreements 600388, 712949 and 801342.