Modern Water aims to clean up by osmosis

By Alistair Dawber: Monday, 21 July 2008

As the world faces the incontrovertible truth of climate change, so politicians search for ways of protecting sources of water. In the UK, people could be forgiven for wondering why this is such a big issue in a country which is, after all, surrounded by the stuff. The problem, of course, is that sea water is as useful as a chocolate teapot unless the salt is extracted first. Indeed, President Kennedy was once quoted as saying: "If we could ever competitively, at a cheap rate, get fresh water from salt water, this would be in the long-range interests of humanity and would dwarf any other scientific accomplishment."
So, step up Modern Water. The company has commercialised what it calls "manipulated osmosis technology", a useful bit of science developed by the University of Surrey, which, they say, will make the desalination process cheaper, more efficient and more environmentally palatable. Manipulated osmosis technology, for those who have forgotten their high school plant biology lessons, works by sucking salt water through a membrane at low pressure, cutting the costs of the process compared with more traditional methods, which involve very high pressured treatment.
Commercially, Modern Water thinks it is on to a winner. When the group came to AIM last year, it said it would take two years to get its first project off the ground. In fact, its first venture, in Gibraltar, will start producing soon; it is also close to signing a deal in the Middle East.
Some of the statistics on global water usage are startling. Since 1950, the world's population has increased by 200 per cent, but water consumption is up 600 per cent, meaning that a massive 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water. Modern Water says global spending on securing water sources in the next 10 years will reach $57bn (£28.5bn) and while the group is not yet producing revenues, it is certainly hoping to get its hands on a slice of that particular pie.