HyperSolar plans to optimise its technology to turn wastewater into renewable hydrogen and natural gas.
According to the EPA, drinking water and wastewater systems account for 3% to 4% of energy use in the US, emitting some 45 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a a year.
Drinking water and wastewater plants are typically the largest energy users of municipal governments, accounting for 30% to 40% of total energy consumed.
HyperSolar CEO Tim Young said instead of using pure water to produce renewable hydrogen, which can be expensive, the company is optimising its technology to work with municipal and industrial wastewater, which contains many kinds of organic molecules.
"Our process uses free sunlight to photo-oxidize (detoxify) wastewater to simultaneously produce molecular hydrogen and clean water," Young said. "This zero-carbon hydrogen can then be used to power the wastewater treatment plant or turned into natural gas by combining it with CO2 for distribution using the existing natural gas infrastructure."
According to Lux Research, the capital cost for new or replacement wastewater treatment infrastructure is currently at $27bn a year and is projected to grow at 1.5% annually.
HyperSolar Water Treatment senior advisor Vikram Pattarkine said: "Wastewater treatment no longer needs to be a liability. We can recover energy inherent in organic matter in wastewater and turn treatment into an opportunity."
