Technologies Ecofixe

In North America, 70% of municipalities treat their wastewater with aerated ponds, and there are more than 3,200 municipal aerated ponds in Canada alone. Ponds face many challenges related to population growth and climate change.

Technologies Ecofixe has developed an ecological and energy-efficient process to address these key problems with a modulable system that is installed directly into aerated ponds. This system integrates several bio-augmentation modules that maintain a large amount of biomass permanently in the aerated pond. This biomass increases the performance and the treatment capacities of the ponds. With this system, 15% to 30% more water can be treated in the same pond while removing 95% of the organic load.

The company works with municipalities as well as industrial clients. They have been having great traction over the past 4 years, in Canada, Morocco and Benin, and will take the next 6 months to validate and test different commercialization channels, particularly in the USA and rest of Canada.

Capital raised figures include amounts raised both on and off platform.

• A saturation of the treatment capacity of the ponds;
• The difficulty of maintaining purification performance in winter and during major hydraulic flows such as heavy rainfall or snowmelt;
• Tighter regulations on contaminant loads that may be released to the environment.

Investment:

$1,000,000 (Investment minimum: $25,000) on total capital raise of $1.6M

Use of Proceeds:

The Company shall use the net proceeds to intensify its commercialization in Canada and the United States, develop its network of manufacturing agents, strengthen the team, and optimize technology.

Investment structure:

Technologie Ecofixe is offering a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity).

Investment opportunity:

The following description is an extract of a more detailed term sheet:

• Discount to the next equity round valuation: 15%
• Valuation cap: $5,500,000

Please note that this is not a complete investment summary. Investors should read all associated documentation including the investor package and associated securities agreements before considering or making any investment. Please contact us via email at info@svx.ca or fill in the Ask a Question box for more information.

The Company started by developing the ECOFIXE module: a bio-augmentation module that maintains a large amount of biomass permanently in the aerated pond. This biomass increases the performance and the treatment capacities of the ponds. This module integrates three main components: the fixed bed support (media), the enclosure and the fine bubble aeration system. It is the only system to be directly implanted in the aerated pond and that processes 100% of the flow at all times. Several modules are coupled together to form a complete installation.

The Company has developed a 2.0 version, called BIOFIXE, developed specifically to increase the contact surface of the media in order to tackle specific contaminants, such as ammoniacal nitrogen.

Each installation usually require a specific set up optimized according to local characteristics. The Company will conduct an on-site facility assessment (water flow rate, quantity and type of charges to be treated, etc.), design the installation (size, number of modules, etc.), and order the components accordingly. The Company outsources the production and assembly of the installation. The Company has one supplier for the media production, and one supplier for the manufacturing of the enclosure and aeration system. All of the components of the ECOFIXE installation are shipped on-site by the suppliers, and assembled and emerged in the client’s water treatment installation. With an ECOFIXE installation, 15% to 30% more water can be treated in the same installations while removing 95% of the organic load and 98% of the ammoniacal nitrogen if the BIOFIXE installation is installed.

The Company has obtained a PCT to fill for a full patent for ECOFIXE and is waiting to obtain it in the USA and Canada. For the BIOFIXE, a provisional patent application was filed in July 2018 in Canada and the United States.

After developing the ECOFIXE and BIOFIXE, the Company plans to continuously improve its technology over the next 3 years. Plans include building an experimentation platform to perform most of the full-scale tests, creation of an algorithm for biological treatment process equipment, development of more specific module range to address issues such as phosphorus removal and other emerging contaminants, and development of an intelligent media.

Technologies Ecofixe’s mission is to contribute to the access to safe water for all, preserve biodiversity, and environment quality, in a world where 80% of the wastewater is not treated.

Only 20% of the world's wastewater is treated (UNEP). On average, high-income countries treat about 70% of the municipal and industrial wastewater they generate. That ratio drops to 38% in upper middle-income countries and to 28% in lower middle-income countries. In low-income countries, only 8% undergoes treatment of any kind. These estimates support the often-cited approximation that, globally, over 80% of all wastewater is discharged without treatment.

More than 2.6 billion people live without access to clean water. The victims are not only in emerging countries where people are dying of cholera or other water-related diseases. In more industrialized countries, people also become ill or die because of inadequate wastewater treatment. Untreated wastewater can contaminate soils, groundwater, springs and rivers. Valuable habitats are disappearing, biodiversity is declining, and the potential for fishing and agriculture is threatened. In addition, poor water quality reduces tourism revenues and the value of real estate assets.

Technologies Ecofixe is committed to promoting sustainable development and applying its principles in its policies, procedures and initiatives, taking into account the resources at its disposal, with a view to continuously improving its business practices. Technologies Ecofixe obtained its B Corp in 2018.

Technologies Ecofixe - B Corporation Score: 82.2

Technologies Ecofixe is working towards tracking specific metrics:

• CO2 reduction
• Energy consumption lowered
• Increased of volume of water treated
• Quality of the water treated

80% of the world wastewater is not treated. There is a huge growth potential for the water sector. Deutsche Bank estimates that the financial needs and investments required for water infrastructure are between 400 and 500 billion euros per year for the world over the next 20 years. The wastewater treatment industry is growing, notes IBISWorld in its study on the Canadian segment of this industry. From 2010 to 2020, it is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 3.4%, surpassing the projected GDP growth rate of 2.2% on average per year. New environmental standards play a key role. The new Wastewater System Effluent Regulations (WSER), which will take effect in 2015, will mark the beginning of a 30-year replacement plan for Canada's existing wastewater treatment infrastructure. It is estimated that the cost of the necessary investments is between $10 billion and $13 billion per year.

Throughout the world and since ancient times, a large part of wastewater treatment has been carried out using aerated ponds, a process also known as "ecological lagooning". Aerated ponds are a reliable, efficient and inexpensive process. Today, they can be found in about 50 countries in all climates (United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Africa and even in the Alaska region). More than 70% of municipalities across North America use aerated ponds. These aerated ponds are composed of basins where the water typically stays for 12 to 20 days and undergoes a process of self-purification. Microorganisms in water break down organic matter and transform it into mineral elements. Aerators located in the basins allow to properly oxygenate the water of this ecosystem. The transformed material settles at the bottom of the ponds and creates sludge that must be drained. The role of aerated ponds is to receive all sanitary wastewater, to treat it biologically and to retain the sludge produced. It is the most economical and easy to operate water treatment system.

Ponds face many challenges related to population growth and climate. The problems can be summarized as follows:

• A saturation of the treatment capacity of the ponds;
• The difficulty of maintaining purification performance in winter and during major hydraulic flows such as heavy rainfall or snowmelt;
• Tighter regulations on contaminant loads that may be released to the environment, such as ammonia nitrogen (NH4+) and phosphorus.

In Canada, aerated ponds are the most common wastewater treatment process. There are more than 3,200 municipal aerated ponds and they face the challenges enumerated above. In Canada, 75% of municipalities treat their wastewater with aerated ponds.

Competition is intense and with diversified approaches. It ranges from multinationals such as Veolia of France, Quebec's Premier Tech and Bionest or the American Entex, to smaller companies such as Enviro-Step. They work in the municipal, industrial and commercial, and sometimes residential sectors. Most of them offer a wide range of products. All want to improve the capacity of wastewater treatment facilities. All of them aim for a high-tech approach and most of them are doing research in nanofiltration (membrane improvement) and other technologies such as electrocoagulation. Solutions for specific problems are also increasingly being proposed, such as dephosphorization, ammonia nitrogen removal and nitrification and denitrification systems.

Technologies Ecofixe has a different positioning compared to its international and local competitors:

• focus only on increasing the capacity of Bioreactor (aerated ponds, activated sludge and SBR being the most common)
• cost of acquiring and operating the ECOFIXE system is lower than traditional systems due to its modularity, ease of installation and maintenance, energy savings and performance
• no new infrastructure or land is required: 20% to 40% more water can be treated in the same facilities
• 100% biologic treatment: no chemicals are employed
• recyclable materials, thus promoting the circular economy
• low tech approach
• low operating costs and ease of maintenance (and ease of training)
• leverage the power of nature and capacity to regenerate faster more efficiently with minimum negative impact

Technologies Ecofixe will need to implement an aggressive commercialization strategy to gain market shares and differentiate itself from its competitors.

Technologies Ecofixe is supported by l’Esplanade, an accelerator of impact and social businesses in Montreal. Through that program the Company has access to business coaches and experts for approximately 400 hours per year. The company is working on enhancing his governance, management team and group of advisor supporting the strategic development and orientations.

Coaches

Jan Kral: Specializing in commercialization of new products and services in both start-up and growth stage companies with an emphasis on clean-tech / engineering and bio-technology. Ecofixe wants to leverage Jan’s experience in the US to ensure success of its commercialization strategy.

Technology partners:

The Company collaborates with various scientific organizations such as the École des Technologies supérieures (ETS) and the Centres Collégiaux de Transfert Technologique (CCTT).