AUSTIN, Texas – Discovery to Impact (D2I) at The University of Texas at Austin has committed $250,000 to NALA Membranes, a UT-affiliated startup. NALA Membranes is focused on advancing water purification through the development of novel chlorine-tolerant membranes for reverse osmosis (RO) systems used in industrial and municipal wastewater treatment. This represents the fifth investment from UT’s $10 million Seed Fund, which supports promising new ventures based on intellectual property developed from UT Austin’s substantial $845 million research operations.
“We are excited to collaborate with NALA Membranes as they work to redefine the water filtration industry,” said Mark Arnold, assistant vice president for Discovery to Impact and managing director of the UT Seed Fund. “Their forward-thinking approach to environmental sustainability aligns perfectly with our investment strategy. We are confident that their advanced technology will significantly improve global water management.”
NALA Membranes, which has headquarters in North Carolina and a subsidiary in Singapore, was established in 2018 by Judy Riffle and Sue Mecham. Their mission is to create affordable and sustainable solutions for accessible clean water. The company’s core technology revolves around chlorine-durable reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, invented by Riffle, a professor emerita at Virginia Tech, and Benny Freeman, a professor in UT’s McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering. NALA Membranes’ innovative materials and methodology address the global need for readily available, clean water, while reducing expenses and minimizing the adverse effects associated with conventional RO procedures.
“We are grateful for this investment from the UT Austin Seed Fund. We also value the long-standing research partnership with Dr. Freeman that enabled the founding of NALA. This investment will facilitate the commercialization of our technology, furthering our mission to develop a new generation of durable membranes that reduce energy consumption, maintenance demands, and the need for frequent membrane replacement in water treatment applications. Our goal is to sustainably provide clean water for residential, industrial, and agricultural purposes. We are looking forward to working with Texas industries to support sustainable wastewater reuse initiatives utilizing NALA’s membranes,” said Mecham, CEO of NALA Membranes.
The company and its researchers are part of a larger network, a hub of water innovators, dedicated to solving the global water crisis and discovering solutions.
