Press Release – 2023, June 22. ENGIE New Ventures, ENGIE’s Research and Innovation investment fund for innovative startups that accelerate the energy transition, has invested in TreaTech. Founded in 2015 in Lausanne, the Swiss startup produces renewable gas using hydrothermal gasification to treat industrial liquid waste and municipal wastewater.
TreaTech raised €9 million from the financing round led by ENGIE New Ventures, Montrose Environmental Group and EIC Fund, and followed by CMA CGM1, Sipchem and Holdigaz. The funding will accelerate the industrialisation of its technology.
TreaTech’s technology was created at the Sustainable and Catalytic Processes Laboratory of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), in combination with hydrothermal gasification techniques developed by the Institut Paul Scherrer de Villigen (PSI). It is used to transform industrial liquid organic waste and municipal wastewater into biogas.
The technology has competitive benefits: a rapid reaction time (just a few minutes compared to several dozen days for anaerobic digestion); it uses little space; it can eliminate bacteria, viruses and pathogens; and it can treat plastic micro-particles (including PFAS, these so-called “forever chemicals”).
This investment in TreaTech forms part of ENGIE’s strategy to develop renewable gas in addition to anaerobic digestion, by increasing its biomethane production capacity in Europe to 10 TWh per year by 2030.
“We are delighted to partner with a consortium of investors such as this to accelerate the development of a technology that offers a tangible solution for industrial stakeholders seeking to recover their waste, while significantly expanding the potential for biogas production in the regions. This is a major additional solution contributing to ENGIE’s ambitions of carbon neutrality by 2045” said Johann Boukhors, Managing Director of ENGIE New Ventures.
Jose Revuelta, Chief Strategy Officer of Montrose Environmental Group, Inc., added: “Our investment in TreaTech marks a significant step into the renewable energy technology sector. We are excited to join with other leading investors to expand the reach of TreaTech’s groundbreaking hydrothermal gasification process, and plan to continue our investments in Europe through our ECT2 division, a market leader in delivering technology solutions for eliminating hard-to-remove contaminants, such as PFAS. We will continue to work to identify, partner and support other pioneering environmental companies, like TreaTech, at the forefront of addressing the world’s most urgent climate challenges.”
Michel Sirat, Executive Vice-President, Strategy & M&A in charge of the Energies Fund, added: “The CMA CGM Group is committed to an energy transition aimed at achieving Net Zero Carbon by 2050. The creation of the CMA CGM Energies Fund is responding to this objective, with investments in innovative startups that will accelerate our decarbonization trajectory. TreaTech’s technology is very promising and we are delighted to invest with players like ENGIE, with whom our Group has signed a strategic partnership.”
Frédéric Juillard, CEO and founder of TreaTech added: “We believe our innovative technology paves the way for the future of waste processing. We have already seen working confirmation in several sectors, and proven that our technology can transform waste streams into high-value resources. We are delighted that large industrial groups share this vision and are supporting us in developing and commercializing our technology.”
About ENGIE New Ventures
ENGIE New Ventures (ENV) is the investment fund at ENGIE Research & Innovation, dedicated to innovative start-ups in the field of climate technologies. ENV makes minority investments in innovative start-ups, bringing strategic value to the Group, with a focus on both the current ecosystem and future disruptive technologies. Since 2014, investments have been made in more than 50 solutions in the cleantech sector. Its investments are directed in particular at renewable energies, energy efficiency and flexibility solutions, and green gases including hydrogen. ENV’s offices are represented in Paris, San Francisco and Tel Aviv.
About TreaTech
TreaTech is a Swiss engineering company that has developed an innovative technology for the sustainable, cost-effective treatment of multiple waste streams. The technology is designed to harness the power of the circular economy, mitigate climate change, and support the global energy transition to renewable gas, while capturing valuable products that are generally excluded from traditional wastewater treatment processes. For more information : trea-tech.com
