akvola Technologies

akvola Technologies GmbH operates as a water technology company, established in Berlin, Germany, in 2013. The firm was founded by Lucas León, who served as the CFO, and Matan Beery, who was the CEO. akvola focuses on engineering and providing solutions for treating hard-to-treat industrial wastewater, specifically targeting the removal of oils (free, dispersed, and emulsified) and suspended solids.

The company's business model revolves around designing, building, and selling custom water treatment units equipped with its proprietary technologies. The primary offering is the akvoFloat™ system, a flotation-filtration process that utilizes novel ceramic membranes. This system is powered by another of the company's proprietary developments, the MicroGas™ Fine Bubble Generator, which creates microbubbles to separate unwanted substances like fats, oils, and fine particles with lower energy and space requirements compared to conventional methods. The robustness of the ceramic materials makes the technology suitable for harsh industrial environments.

akvola serves a range of major water-using industries, including oil and gas, refining and petrochemicals, metalworking, steel, automotive, and food and beverage. One of its known customers is ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions. The company's solutions aim to help industrial sites meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations and reduce wastewater disposal costs, thereby minimizing their water footprint with a positive return on investment. A significant milestone was achieved in 2016 when the company won the WssTP Water Innovation SME Award, recognizing its market potential and exploitation strategy. Following commercial successes and a Series A financing round in 2016, which included investors like High-Tech Gründerfonds, the company expanded its team and production facilities. However, in March 2021, it was reported that akvola was planning to file for insolvency due to a significant drop in sales and the inability to secure a new financing round. Subsequently, the company was acquired by Steffen Hartmann Recyclingtechnologien.

Keywords: industrial wastewater treatment, water technology, oil removal, suspended solids removal, akvoFloat, ceramic membrane filtration, flotation-filtration, MicroGas, fine bubble generator, water reuse, cleantech, environmental technology, wastewater solutions, oil and gas water treatment, metalworking wastewater, steel industry water treatment, petrochemical wastewater, food and beverage wastewater, water purification, Lucas León, Matan Beery