NanoH2O to build Chinese reverse osmosis membrane manufacturing facility

US-based reverse osmosis (RO) membrane manufacturer NanoH2O plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Liyang, China.

The 10,000m² facility will be the company’s second fully integrated manufacturing plant, following the first located in Los Angeles, California, US. The company will invest $45m in the facility, which is anticipated to be operational by the end of 2014.

Marketed under the QuantumFlux brand, NanoH2O’s thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane represents the first significant RO membrane technology innovation in 25 years.

QuantumFlux elements provide significantly higher flux than traditional thin-film composite membranes. For new SWRO desalination plants, QuantumFlux can increase water production by as much as 70%.

China plans to increase its seawater reverse osmosis desalination capacity three-fold by 2015 and the overall membrane market in the country is estimated to grow more than 20% year on year over the next 10 years.

China mandates under its current five-year plan that 70% of the equipment used in desalination plants must be produced domestically.

Establishing a new NanoH2O facility in China will allow the company to take advantage of the growing domestic market for both desalination and wastewater treatment.

NanoH2O CEO and chairman Jeff Green said that just two years after its commercial entry into the RO membrane and desalination markets, the opening of this second facility marks a major expansion for the company that will allow it to support a rapidly growing international market.

"The Liyang plant is the first RO membrane manufacturing facility in China to utilise advanced nanotechnology. We look forward to working closely with our colleagues in Liyang to bring the next generation of energy efficient reverse osmosis membranes to China and other strategic markets across the globe," Green added.