Jerusalem Post
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US chemical giant DuPont acquires Israeli desalination start-up

Founded in 2008, Desalitech specializes in closed circuit reverse osmosis desalination technology for industrial and municipal water users.

By EYTAN HALON
A view of the Dupont logo on a sign at the Dupont Chestnut Run Plaza facility near Wilmington, Delaware (photo credit: REUTERS/TIM SHAFFER)
A view of the Dupont logo on a sign at the Dupont Chestnut Run Plaza facility near Wilmington, Delaware
(photo credit: REUTERS/TIM SHAFFER)
American chemical giant DuPont has signed an agreement to acquire Israeli-founded desalination start-up Desalitech. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Founded in 2008, Desalitech specializes in closed circuit reverse osmosis (CCRO) desalination technology for industrial and municipal water users, promising increased water purification and reuse. The start-up has been headquartered in Massachusetts since 2013 and has an office in Kfar Saba.
“As a global leader in innovative water solutions, we are committed to delivering ways to solve water challenges around the world,” said DuPont Safety & Construction President Rose Lee. “This acquisition in the high-growth water purification space reinforces our strategic intent to provide a robust portfolio of technologies to meet our customers’ current and future challenges while advancing our corporate commitment to sustainability.”
Desalitech’s patented reverse osmosis process can recover up to 98% of water treated, the company says, far exceeding recovery rates of most industrial and municipal reverse osmosis systems. The company, which has raised $24.5 million in funding to date, names Audi, Microsoft, Coca-Cola and L’Oréal among its customers.
The acquisition, New York-listed DuPont said, will support its strategy to drive growth and innovation through access to new manufacturing capabilities, geographies and technologies.
“As a leader in reverse osmosis, with a large, global-installed base and deep knowledge across many industrial and municipal applications, DuPont is the perfect home for Desalitech and its disruptive CCRO technology,” said the company’s CEO and chairman Nadav Efraty. “As part of DuPont, we will have an exponentially greater impact on global water scarcity, with many more partners and users able to access this efficient, resilient and flexible water purification and reuse technology.”
Desalitech has won a number of awards in recent years for its technology, including the 2016 Global Water Award for Breakthrough Water Technology Company of the Year, and was named a “key player” in large-scale desalinization by MIT Technology Review in 2015.