Switzerland-born CleanTech startup Oxyle picks $3M, aims to improve wastewater treatment

The objective of Switzerland-born cleantech startup Oxyle is to improve the quality of water bodies and protect ecosystems from micropollutants. To that end, the company raised $3M in a pre-seed fundraising round.

Since its founding, the company has raised a total of $7.4M. Wingman Ventures headed the fundraising round, and SOSV, Better Ventures, and another.vc also took part.

The fresh cash will go toward forming partnerships to access new markets, growing the company’s client base into lucrative market sectors, hiring more staff with scaling abilities, and, most significantly, launching the first product the next year.

The European Commission’s H2020 EIC accelerator program, Eurostars, and various competitive Swiss programs have all provided funding to the venture-backed business Oxyle.

Fajer Mushtaq and Silvan Staufert started Oxyle in 2020, and the company has created a sustainable and scalable technology that eliminates a variety of micropollutants from contaminated wastewater, including chemicals like PFAS, medicines, hormones, pesticides, and more.

Using nanoporous catalysts, Oxyle’s cutting-edge treatment method oxidizes and removes micropollutants to detection levels of 1 ng/L, even for very persistent chemicals that are resistant to conventional treatments. The Oxyle proprietary analytics technology is integrated with this treatment method to provide real-time monitoring of micropollutants.

To serve clients in the chemical sector, pharmaceutical firms, hospitals, and environmental remediation projects, it is intended to deploy remotely controlled modular, decentralized reactors of various sizes.

The core technology for this revolutionary innovation was created over 5 years by Dr. Fajer Mushtaq, Oxyle’s CEO and co-founder, as part of her dissertation study at ETH Zurich, which started in 2014.

In partnership with Dr. Silvan Staufert, the idea for a novel catalyst for micropollutant degradation was developed into a scalable technology platform that can treat the issue where it matters: at the source before they enter waterways. Oxyle has completed many funded pilots with industrial and municipal customers, progressed its technology to TRL8 through on-site demonstrations, and grown to a 17-person team.

“We live in a time where we face multiple existential crises daily, and lack of clean, pollutant-free water is one of them,” said Dr. Fajer Mushtaq, CEO, and Co-Founder of Oxyle AG. For our industrial and municipal clients, Oxyle is offering market-disruptive technologies that efficiently, affordably, and sustainably remove and detect micropollutants.”

Fajer continued, “We are using new market forces such as tougher rules and increased public pressure to expand our operations in lucrative market areas and support a diversified portfolio of global customers. As we are ready to launch our newest product, a batch treatment system, on the market, we are thrilled to collaborate closely with our investors, clients, regulators, and partners.

Flexibility has been at the core of our technology since its conception, according to Dr. Silvan Staufert, co-founder and chief technology officer of Oxyle AG. Usability, energy efficiency, and treatment decentralization were consistently prioritized as key performance indicators. We offer effective monitoring and treatment options using our scalable technology platform, and we are well-positioned to address this issue wherever it arises.”

“Extending the accomplishments of our continuing customer pilots, which have demonstrated the elimination of PFAS to below detection limits. We are leveraging this momentum to develop products that safeguard the environment and human health from these harmful substances, Silvan said.

Image Credit: Oxyle