We are excited to announce our series Seed investment in WASE, a company that is enabling a new era of sustainable decentralised wastewater treatment and a renaissance in biogas production.

Wase: Unlocking the power of waste to make it the fuel of the future

The £6.2 round was led by Extantia Capital, with participation from Hitachi Ventures, Engie New Ventures, and WEPA Ventures. Other investors include Elbow Beach Capital, Caygan Capital and Empirical Ventures. The round earmarks funds for WASE to scale operations, execute multi-million pounds of signed contracts and projects in their qualified pipeline, and build out their product offering.

The Big Picture

Water, one of the most precious resources, is also one of the most undervalued ones and we’re polluting it constantly. Every day, a staggering 80% of wastewater is discharged untreated into the environment (the equivalent of 2M swimming pools worth of water enter the environment untreated every day). Yet, within this crisis lies an opportunity. Wastewater isn’t just waste; it’s a potential source of reusable water, valuable nutrients, and energy. In fact, there is 10x more energy in wastewater than the energy used to treat that same wastewater.

Moreover, amidst growing concerns over energy security, the need for reliable, green, and cost-competitive baseload energy remains a global problem. Traditional anaerobic digestion, while a foundational technology, has stagnated over the past few decades (with almost no innovation in >40 years). It’s bulky, sluggish in processing waste, and lacks efficiency in extracting value and energy. Despite its simplicity in concept, its operation is plagued by complexity. Picture a massive tank housing bacteria that laboriously break down organic compounds to yield biogas, containing a substantial (40–50%) portion of CO2 with negligible energy value. This poses significant challenges in integrating the gas into existing infrastructures like boilers.

However, within these shortcomings lies a compelling opportunity. European regulators are calling for a 12x increase in biomethane production capacity (RePowerEU). Yet, to realise this potential, we urgently require innovations that slash the technology’s Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), thereby democratising biogas adoption on a broader scale.

Unveiling WASE’s Unfair Advantage

Step into the renaissance of biogas with WASE, where ground-breaking Electro-Methanogenic Reactor (EMR) technology reignites the potential of biogas as a reliable baseload energy source. Wase’s EMR is a membrane-less technology that grows micro-organisms in the electrodes, which are electrically active when they break down the organic compounds producing a biological current within the reactor. Hydrogen ions are generated in the reactor, which, together with CO2 and electrons can be transformed into methane. WASE’s unique EMR technology is versatile and increases the methane content of biogas to more than 80% compared to conventional 50–60% methane in Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plants.

But WASE’s impact goes beyond efficiency. Its compact, plug-and-play system seamlessly integrates into existing infrastructure, offering a streamlined solution that’s 50–70% smaller than alternatives. This modular design not only facilitates easy on-site deployment but also enables customisation, empowering companies to tailor their energy production to fit their needs precisely.

Moreover, WASE is pioneering operational excellence. With state-of-the-art remote-control technology, the company ensures real-time monitoring through bio-sensing, minimising downtime, and maximising safety without the need for on-site engineering assessments.

At Hitachi Ventures, we recognise the transformative potential of WASE’s technology. Led by a team of forward-thinkers like Thomas and Llŷr, WASE has not only developed ground-breaking technology but has also secured significant commercial contracts, proving its viability in the market. We are delighted to back WASE in their mission to reshape the power of waste and renaissance of biogas and actively contribute to a more sustainable world.

To learn more, please feel free to reach out to Tobias Jahn or Elena Ballesteros Rodado, see the Tech Crunch coverage, or visit WASE’s Website.

About Hitachi Ventures

Hitachi Ventures is the strategic venture capital arm of Hitachi Ltd., investing in technologies that address society’s key technological challenges in target areas such as climate tech, energy, IT, industry, and healthcare. With offices in Munich, Boston & Silicon Valley we cover our global investment mandate and have backed world-leading companies such as Ascend Elements (Battery Recycling), Rescale (HPC simulation platform) & ArsenalBio (programmable cell therapy). We look for leading startups with exciting technologies and business models which we support as investor as well as through strategic collaborations with Hitachi business units.