Our process produces 70–90% desalinated brackish water for industrial and agricultural use. These sectors, listed in the Dutch verdringingsreeks as first to face restrictions, are highly vulnerable to water shortages. By supplying reliable, year-round access to brackish water, Algaenius reduces pressure on scarce freshwater resources while enabling businesses to operate sustainably. The increasing prevalence of excess salt also presents a critical challenge and opportunity. Current technologies simply relocate salt, generating around three liters of brine for every liter of fresh water. Discharging this waste into rivers and oceans causes severe ecological damage. Algaenius addresses this by desalinating brine to safer levels and embedding salt directly into algae biomass. This creates a unique dual capability: salt capture and CO₂ sequestration. Our biomass can be verifiably sequestered, offering compliance opportunities within carbon markets like the EU ETS. Currently at TRL 4/5, our technology has already gained international recognition, winning awards such as the UN Gamechanger Challenge and the Dutch Junior Water Prize. Algaenius thus creates triple value: dependable water supply, ecological protection, and climate-positive impact.

The world is facing an unprecedented water crisis. Half of the world's population could be living in areas facing water scarcity by as early as this year, 2025. By 2040, roughly 1 in 4 children worldwide will be living in areas of extremely high water stress. And it is not a distant issue; multiple regions in Europe have been hit by extreme water stress last summer. Even in the Netherlands Waterlands, a persistent drinking water shortage is expected by 2030 according to the RIVM. The problem? Current desalination technologies, especially reverse osmosis, are caught in a cycle of environmental harm. They consume large amounts of energy, often from fossil fuels, driving greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, which worsens water scarcity and increases reliance on desalination. Additionally, the process produces highly concentrated brine, threatening marine ecosystems and coastal habitats. This dependence on expensive, energy-intensive methods exacerbates both climate change and pollution, making the approach unsustainable and unattainable for many drought-struck regions. A fundamentally different, nature-based approach is needed: unique algae that capture both salt and carbon dioxide: breaking the cycle.