Minus Filtration revolutionizes water treatment with our patented nanofiltration technology, effectively removing PFAS, salts, and emerging contaminants without chemicals. Amid growing global water quality challenges, our retrofit-ready membrane systems deliver a versatile, scalable solution that outperforms traditional methods across multiple contamination types. This proven technology presents a compelling investment opportunity in the $800B water infrastructure market.
Minus Filtration is dedicated to revolutionizing water treatment through our proprietary nanofiltration membrane technology. Our long-term goal is to develop comprehensive ""minus"" approach systems that treat water without the use of chemicals or additives, thereby eliminating byproducts and adverse health effects associated with traditional methods.
- “Minus” vs. “Plus” methods: The water treatment industry predominantly rely on “plus” approaches – adding chemical adsorbents such as aluminum chloride, granular activated carbon and ion exchange resins. Minus Filtration’s advanced membranes separate dangerous contaminants without additives – eliminating harmful byproducts and hazardous waste.
- Scalability / Tunability: From our research, many emerging technologies are ineffective at large scale because of high energy intensity or significant cost-effectiveness tradeoffs. There is currently no method that is effective for the treatment of large facilities that treat tens to hundreds of millions of gallons per day.
Minus Filtration’s system is highly scalable and tunable, offering a cost-effective solution for all sized facilities. Our technology offers a scalable solution that can be broadly applied across various water treatment scenarios, addressing unmet needs in the market by providing chemical-free, effective filtration. By focusing on “minus” rather than “plus”, we simplify water treatment, enhance safety, and sustainably manage our water resources for current and future generations.
Minus Filtration’s team brings together technical and operational excellence. The team’s proven track record and execution-oriented skills will expedite Minus Filtration’s commercialization.
- CEO: Marcus Wang - former head of Under Armour China where he grew revenue from $0 to $80M, co-founder & CEO of a successfully exited biotech company, ZytoGen Global Genetics Institute, derived from university research.
- Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Advisor: Dr. Yongsheng Chen has spent 30 years researching urban sustainability including water and energy use efficiency. He has served as an investigator on grants totaling ~$10M with over 100 peer-reviewed journal papers.
- COO: Jia Rong Li – former investment banker at JP Morgan working with leading industrial and energy companies. He has 10+ deal experience in complex financing and restructuring.
- CFO: Ian Chalk – former lead of Corporate Development at Cardinality and completed multiple rounds of fundraising and M&A. Ian also has experience in growth equity investments.
We will prioritize selling to municipal drinking water facilities because of the impending EPA PFAS requirements and growing public awareness. More specifically, we will target medium-large facilities (serving 3k-100k) because these have higher ability to pay, include 9,000+ facilities and cover ~50% of Americans. The strategy will include a combination of direct sales and partnerships with the network of engineering firms / adjacent providers that the facilities already work with and trust. Because the facilities are price-sensitive, Minus Filtration will emphasize our retrofit capability, low footprint, and cost-efficient system that is economical for all-sized facilities. To execute on initial sales, we have been developing public and private partnerships: State / Local Department of Environmental Protection (DEPs) – they lead PFAS remediation efforts and are important stakeholders in ensuring federal funds are distributed to noncompliant facilities. We have connected with DEPs in Massachusetts, Maine, and Maryland and are scheduled to present to them. Engineering firms – these firms such as Battelle and AECOM are trusted by treatment facilities. They recommend solutions and are a path to expedite access to end-clients for Minus Filtration. Adjacent water treatment service providers – these include system integrators and other upstream treatment service providers. Partnering with them offers us access to their client network and we are additive to their product offering. We currently have on-going discussions with 2 industry leaders.
System sales: Minus will offer modular nanofiltration systems that target PFAS removal for municipal drinking water facilities. These plug-and-play systems integrate seamlessly into existing infrastructure, minimizing installation time and complexity. For smaller facilities with budget constraints, we will provide long-term (5-10 year) leasing options, reducing upfront costs while ensuring a stable revenue stream for us . Membrane replacement / subscription: A key revenue driver will be periodic membrane replacements. The useful life of the membranes is expected to be 5-10 years in drinking water settings with larger systems requiring hundreds of membrane elements. To enhance customer retention, we are exploring subscription-based models that bundle replacements and service into a predictable, recurring fee structure. Maintenance / Upgrade: We will generate additional revenue through periodic maintenance and upgrades to our modular systems. This ensures the long-term efficiency and performance of our technology while providing an ongoing touchpoint with clients.
We are raising $1.2M which will enable Minus Filtration to complete initial product development of a full-sized municipal drinking water nanofiltration system. Use of funds breakdown:
- $250k – OEM recipe / process optimization and scale-up design. Building on strong lab scale results, we have received quotes from providers to optimize and scale up the design.
- $425k – salaries for the core team along with 2 full time critical engineers. Funding will support the core team already working full-time and enable the addition of two critical engineers from the inventor, Dr. Chen’s lab, who are eager to join Minus Filtration.
- $150k – system integration of the membrane elements into existing hardware. These funds will optimize the integration of our membrane elements into existing hardware, leveraging their retrofitting capability and compatibility with current operational demands.
- $375k – beta product and fully functional pilot system that can be installed and tested in municipal drinking water facilities.
This allocation covers design, construction, and deployment of a fully functional pilot system. We have secured a partner with access to pilot sites for municipal water testing. With a strong technical foundation, Minus Filtration is incredibly capital efficient and can achieve a fully functional system implemented in real-world client sites with $1.2M. While our initial focus is on PFAS removal in drinking water, our versatile “minus” approach has broader applications to industrial wastewater treatment and desalination. We are seeking strategic investors who share our vision for using deeptech innovation to tackle critical environmental challenges.
Minus Filtration's advanced nanofiltration membrane is patented, prototyped, and data-validated. Our team is currently working with an OEM to finalize the design towards a beta product in the next quarter. Patented: the technology is derived from three patents licensed from Georgia Tech. The core patent has already been approved while two others are WIPO with the option to file in member countries. Prototyped: the membrane has been prototyped at lab scale, iteratively fabricated, and tested for compliance with EPA standards. Data-validated: through rigorous testing with HPLC and chromatography results, we have PFAS and other contaminant rejection data. The PFAS data is resoundingly strong at <4ppt and <1 Hazard Index, which meets EPA requirements. The team is confident that even lower PFAS rejection results are possible, but the data is limited by the sensitivity of available lab instruments. Scale-up: Minus Filtration is finalizing a contract with an OEM partner who will be working with our team to scale-up manufacturing and the process to market dimensions. In the next three months, we will have a beta product that can be evaluated in relevant environments and ready for small-scale piloting.
Grants – we are currently applying for the NSF Seed Fund and are exploring additional grant opportunities as well.
Angel – ~$300k of committed capital from ultra-high-net-worth individuals in our network.
Venture – we are currently in discussion with select venture funds interested in committing capital to Minus Filtration.
Other – The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center has verbal interest in committing follow-on capital to Minus Filtration once we reach ~$1M raised.
