Press release submitted on behalf of NovoLabs.
NovoLabs™, the New Zealand-based water tech innovator, has announced the successful closure of an oversubscribed Series A funding round, to assist in their mission to take their patented new UV disinfection technology global. With the backing of the Climate Venture Capital Fund, NovoLabs is set to accelerate the deployment of its patented Supercritical UV™ technology. This new technology enables the cost-effective treatment of liquids with UV light in a range of applications that legacy UV system are unable to reach.
UV Is A Widely Established Disinfection Technology
UV disinfection is well-established as an effective disinfection technique for water, process liquids, wastewater, etc with an estimated total global market worth over $5billion pa. The mechanics of the treatment are simple – specialized lamps emitting a specific range of UV light (termed UV-C or “germicidal range UV”) are used to irradiate liquids. This is highly effective in disrupting the RNA and DNA structures of bacteria, viruses and protozoa causing rapid deactivation and disinfection. Unfortunately, UV light intensity and its ability to disinfect drops off at a rapid exponential rate when it is radiated through water, especially when water clarity decreases.
NovoLabs Revolutionary Approach
Pioneered by Professor Andy Shilton, NovoLabs’ founder and CTO, Supercritical UV technology incorporates a revolutionary ‘top-down’ UV-C delivery system. This new system works by using UV-C lamps positioned above a fast-flowing ‘supercritical’ film of water only a few millimetres thick. This enables a markedly higher intensity of UV light to be maintained even in more opaque liquids and in liquids with higher levels of fine solids, for example in algae waste stabilisation pond effluents. This patented new approach not only can offer a lower-cost treatment solution, but also expands the boundaries of where UV disinfection can be applied with research trials as diverse as for the treatment of calf milk to reduce microbe contamination underway.
Climate VC Fund Partner, Dr Jez Weston said “NovoLabs’ technology has the potential to replace a large and mature installed base of traditional treatment facilities. It can improve water quality and reduce emissions by avoiding the use of large amounts of chemicals for disinfection and clarification,” said Weston. “This technology allows water treatment plants to save on their operating costs, reduce their greenhouse emissions, and protect communities and ecosystems by killing pathogens. It’s a pretty compelling technology and company for a sector that’s looking for new and affordable solutions.”
Novolabs Expands From Garage To Global Player
Shilton, notes that “not long ago we were a startup located in a shed at the back of Massey University. Today we have multiple full-scale systems sold into industries providing high levels of wastewater disinfection. This novel technology is capable of providing disinfection to liquids normally considered untreatable by conventional UV technologies. It is also chemical-free and avoids the high electricity consumption of alternative technologies like membranes. With councils and industries alike striving for more sustainable solutions NovoLabs technology offers a new answer.”
Rapid Adoption Of Supercritical UV In NZ Market
Dr Matt Sells NovoLabs CEO, notes that despite the technology only recently becoming commercially available, its unparalleled performance in a range of otherwise difficult to treat applications have led to organisations in industries ranging from meat processing to domestic wastewater choosing to deploy the NovoLabs technology. “We have had excellent feedback from industries, councils, engineering consultants and local iwi. This is great recognition for this Kiwi invention given that we are competing against legacy technology from global companies who have sold hundreds of thousands of UV systems”.
The Climate Venture Capital Fund will be represented on NovoLabs board of directors by Lance Wiggs who has a Yale MBA and brings decades of business and investing experience. Lance joins the existing Novolabs board of Rob Baan (DDL), Russel Wilson (MVL), and Andrew Shilton.
For more information, visit: https://novolabs.co.nz/.
