bNovate Technologies, a leader in rapid microbial detection systems for water, announced a Series C investment round of CHF 12 million led by Cleantech venture capital pioneer Emerald Technology Ventures and followed by existing shareholders. The infusion will accelerate the Switzerland-based company’s global expansion as well as grow its product portfolio.
bNovate’s successful product BactoSense, the result of Swiss innovation and engineering, is a compact, connected, and robust device that can monitor water continuously and detect microbial contamination in only 20 minutes. Traditionally, a rigorous assessment would take three to five days. Not only is it faster, but it has also made massive gains in efficiency and accuracy, as conventional laboratory methods require more resources, scientists onsite, and often undercount the bacteria present in a given water sample.
Already hundreds of installations
Applications for bNovate’s devices include municipal utilities for safe drinking water and industrial applications for the efficient cleaning of production assets and safely produced goods. Currently, there are already hundreds of installations in the field. Industrial applications will grow in scope as climate change and growing urbanisation exacerbate the stress on water networks and the imbalances in supply and demand. Water managers urgently need fast, simple and cost-effective ways to ensure that vast quantities of water are clean and safe. bNovate’s nimble solution aims to capitalize on this future rapid growth in the market for microbiological water testing, which is expected to expand by 6.8% annually between 2020 and 2027.
“We look forward to supporting the company in their growth, especially in the Americas and APAC regions,” says Helge Daebel, Partner at Emerald, who will be joining the Board of Directors at bNovate. “The speed and automation of this technology in detecting bacteria in water has the potential for massive positive impact both in the municipal and industrial space.” Switzerland-based VC Emerald has extensive experience and a long history in water innovation, including the launch of a dedicated water fund in 2020.
“We are proud to offer solutions to the market that contribute to the global water safety improvement and allow companies to be more sustainable,” says Simon Künzi, CEO at bNovate. “Now we need to find the right people to join our passionate sales team and help make a difference.” bNovate was founded in 2011 and is based at the EPFL Innovation Park in Lausanne. In 2020 the company established a new Marketing & Sales department in Zürich.
(Press release / SK)
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