What Aquafortus does

Aquafortus is a New Zealand-headquartered water technology company that has developed the ABX™ (Aquafortus Brine Xchange) system, a non-thermal solvent exchange process for treating hypersaline industrial brines that the company positions as the world's first non-thermal crystallizer. The closed, dual-loop system operates at ambient temperature and pressure using a proprietary non-toxic Absorbent and a food-grade Regenerant to selectively remove water from brine rather than filtering contaminants, reportedly delivering approximately 98% salt rejection with 70% energy savings, 50% lower operating costs, and 40% lower capital expenditure versus thermal evaporators. The system is built entirely from off-the-shelf pumps, pipes, and tanks and confines fouling salts to the absorption stage so downstream nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes handle only a purpose-built regenerant, minimizing scaling and membrane replacement. Aquafortus serves three primary verticals: oil and gas produced water (with the Permian Basin generating 20+ million barrels of wastewater daily), industrial wastewater from semiconductor fabrication, battery recycling, and advanced manufacturing requiring zero liquid discharge compliance, and mining tailings in water-scarce regions. The company has tested the ABX process across 16 different brine streams with consistent results and currently operates a 2,000 barrels-per-day Field Research Facility in Colorado City, Texas, with a stated goal of treating 3 billion barrels per year by 2035.

Aquafortus generates revenue through two channels: managed-service contracts in which the company commissions, operates, and maintains ABX systems on a per-barrel treatment fee basis, and technology licensing to partners such as GS E&C for commercial-scale deployment. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting oil & gas operators, mining majors, and industrial wastewater producers, initiated through technical consultations and supported by participation in industry events such as the Produced Water Society's Permian Basin conference. The company operates a global R&D headquarters in Mangere, New Zealand, alongside US commercial and engineering operations in Houston and Colorado City.

Following a $7.5 million Series A in September 2021 led by DCVC and a $17 million Series A1 in February 2023 co-led by DCVC and Novo Holdings with participation from Intrepid, Aquafortus appointed Dr. Hoshang Subawalla as CEO in February 2026 to lead a strategic transition from technology validation to building and operating large-scale infrastructure projects across four continents. Investors and strategic partners include Halliburton Labs, Burnt Island Ventures, NZ Growth Capital Partners, BHP, SQM, and Occidental Petroleum, providing both capital and embedded access to oil & gas, mining, and lithium industry channels.

Name

Aquafortus

Legal name

Aquafortus

Website

https://aquafortus.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Aquafortus is a New Zealand-headquartered water technology company that has developed the ABX™ non-thermal solvent exchange system for hypersaline brine desalination, targeting oil and gas operators, mining companies, and industrial wastewater producers with a managed-service and licensing model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Water Treatment (Hypersaline Brine Desalination)

NAICS

Pump and Compressor Manufacturing (33391)

SIC

Oil & Gas Field Machinery & Equipment (3533)

akta.pro primary industry

Desalination Plant EPC, O&M & Performance Optimization (EUANAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Industrial Drying & Evaporation Equipment (Dryers, Evaporators, Crystallizers) (IMAHAEAD)

Keywords

• Brine desalination technology
• Industrial wastewater treatment
• Produced water management
• Zero liquid discharge
• Non-thermal desalination

Headquarters

HQ city

Mangere

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. ABX System Deployment and Operations: Aquafortus commissions, operates, and maintains its ABX systems for customers. Revenue generated through treatment fees based on barrels processed, with the company providing complete treatment performance as a service.
2. Technology Licensing: Licensing of ABX technology platform to partners such as GS E&C for deployment at commercial scale in various markets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Aquafortus provides the ABX™ system, a proprietary non-thermal, non-membrane solvent exchange process for treating high-salinity industrial brines. The closed, dual-loop system operates at ambient temperature and pressure using a proprietary non-toxic Absorbent and food-grade Regenerant, and is sold and deployed as a managed service that Aquafortus commissions, operates, and maintains for oil & gas operators, mining companies, and industrial wastewater producers.

Product overview

Aquafortus is a single-product technology company offering the ABX™ system as its core platform for hypersaline brine desalination. The ABX™ system is a novel solvent exchange process that treats high salinity brines by selectively removing water using a proprietary non-toxic absorbent and food-grade regenerant. The closed, dual-loop system operates at ambient temperature and pressure, comprising three integrated sub-processes: the Absorption Process (proprietary dry absorbent pulling water from brine), the Regeneration Process (food-grade regenerant extracting water from absorbent), and the Membrane System (NF/RO membranes separating clean water from regenerant). Aquafortus also commissions, operates, and maintains its ABX™ systems and offers Mobile Demonstration Units for market expansion. The company positions itself as transitioning from a chemistry company to a large-scale infrastructure builder across oil & gas produced water, mining, and industrial wastewater markets worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ABX™ System A novel solvent exchange desalination system for hypersaline industrial brines. The closed, dual-loop system operates at ambient temperature and pressure using a proprietary non-toxic absorbent and food-grade regenerant, selectively removing water rather than filtering contaminants and delivering approximately 70% energy savings over thermal evaporators. Targeted at oil & gas operators, mining companies, and industrial wastewater producers.
• ABX™ Commissioning, Operations and Maintenance Services Managed-service offering where Aquafortus commissions, operates, and maintains ABX™ systems for customers, providing treatment performance as a service so operators do not need to build new in-house competencies. Revenue is generated through treatment fees based on barrels processed on multi-year contracts.
• ABX™ Non-Thermal Crystallizer World's first non-thermal crystallizer engineered to treat hypersaline and complex industrial brines with low energy intensity, enabling true Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) for challenging industrial streams at ambient temperature and pressure.
• Mobile Demonstration Units Portable ABX™ demonstration units used to scale and commercialize non-thermal desalination technology across the United States and New Zealand markets, supporting customer pilots and field validation.
• ABX™ Technology Licensing Licensing of the ABX™ technology platform to engineering and infrastructure partners (e.g., GS E&C) for commercial-scale deployment, combining Aquafortus' non-thermal technology with the partner's engineering and global infrastructure capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70% energy savings compared to thermal evaporators
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GS E&CcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration agreement signed March 2026 to advance next-generation treatment solutions for secondary battery wastewater. GS E&C provides engineering expertise and global infrastructure capabilities for deployment at commercial scale.
• BHPminorOthersBHP is listed as a partner, likely related to mining wastewater treatment applications.
• SQMminorOthersSQM (Sociedad Química y Minera) is listed as a partner, potentially related to lithium and industrial brine applications.
• Produced Water SocietyminorOthersIndustry association partner providing access to the produced water treatment ecosystem and networking opportunities.
• New Mexico Produced Water ConsortiumminorOthersConsortium partner for produced water research and treatment standards in New Mexico.
• Texas Produced Water ConsortiumminorOthersConsortium partner for produced water research and treatment standards in Texas.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Energy Recovery, Inc. Energy Recovery manufactures energy-recovery devices and pressure-exchanger technology that lower the energy footprint of desalination and high-pressure membrane systems. While more component-focused, it competes on the same value proposition of reducing energy cost in brine treatment.
• Gradiant: Gradiant provides industrial water and wastewater treatment solutions, including brine concentration and zero liquid discharge (ZLD) technologies. It directly competes with Aquafortus in hypersaline brine treatment across O&G, mining, and industrial verticals, with a comparable focus on energy-efficient, non-thermal alternatives to traditional evaporation.
• Saltworks Technologies: Saltworks designs and manufactures advanced desalination and brine treatment systems, including thermal and membrane-based crystallizers targeting hypersaline streams. It is one of the closest functional peers to Aquafortus in the high-salinity brine concentration and ZLD market.

Emerging players

• OriginClear: OriginClear offers on-site industrial water treatment and water-reuse systems for sectors including O&G produced water. While smaller in scale, it competes for similar decentralized brine-management budgets.
• Fluence Corporation: Fluence provides decentralized, packaged water and wastewater treatment systems for industrial and municipal customers, including desalination and reuse. It is comparable to Aquafortus in modular, distributed deployment but lacks the non-thermal crystallization focus.
• Aqua Membranes: Aqua Membranes develops printed nanofiltration and RO membrane technology aimed at reducing fouling and improving economics of industrial desalination. It is an emerging technology peer that addresses some of the same fouling and cost challenges Aquafortus targets with solvent exchange.

Broad incumbents

• IDE Technologies: IDE Technologies is a long-established desalination and water-treatment EPC firm (and former employer of Aquafortus CCO Iris Jancik). It competes across thermal and membrane desalination, with overlap in industrial brine concentration for mining and O&G applications.
• Veolia Water Technologies and Solutions: Veolia is one of the largest global water-treatment incumbents, offering thermal evaporation, membrane, and chemical-treatment solutions for industrial brine. It competes with Aquafortus across mining, O&G, and industrial wastewater, and is also a former employer of Aquafortus's CEO.
• Suez Water Technologies and Solutions: Suez provides water and wastewater treatment services and equipment globally, including brine concentration and ZLD solutions for industrial customers. It overlaps with Aquafortus's industrial-wastewater and mining verticals and is a former employer of Aquafortus's CEO.

Regional players

• Acciona Agua: Acciona Agua is a major global desalination and water-treatment EPC contractor with strong presence in EMEA and Latin America, including industrial brine projects. Comparable to Aquafortus in brine desalination but with much broader geographic and capability footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aquafortus-technologies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors11 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aquafortus