Why we invested in 2S Water

Multivariate real-time non-contact sensing is one of the holy grails of water management. Getting it right will allow all stakeholders to understand what is in their water in real time. If they get it REALLY right, this knowledge will allow a whole swathe of improvements in water management, including reduced chemical and energy use, reduced pollution, reduced fines, improved health outcomes, improving the pace and cadence of experimentation with new technology - the list is very long indeed. Naturally, it’s a colossal technical challenge, with some interesting companies taking a run at the problem.

One of these is 2S Water. We have known Anthea and the team for a while, and they are a real outlier. Not just because of their remarkably cost efficient path to their first paid deployment with a very demanding client, but because they are outsiders to the industry. They’ve followed an unusual and usually fraught path to building a water company, but one which they are executing with aplomb.

This is why we invested in 2S Water:

A Market in Serious Need of Solutions

Mining is both necessary and highly polluting.The monitoring of metal content in wastewater is a critical issue for mine managers, in order to maintain their license to operate (i.e. not poison people downstream), optimise their treatment system, optimise their production processes, and more. Detection of heavy metals in the mining industry’s water and wastewater treatment is a $7 billion industry. 

2S Water’s combination hardware and software solution allows mining companies to monitor up to 5 analytes (currently) in their effluent or influent water, alerting them when any of the metals surpass the detection limit. These measurements allow customers to save an estimated $115k in direct costs annually, on top of indirect benefits like fine avoidance, savings on maintenance, and improved social perception for releasing less polluted water. The ROI on these units is very high indeed.

An Unusual Process Excellently Executed

Anthea and her co-founder knew they wanted to do something in water, so they went looking. A lengthy review of available material led them to comb through white papers on potential sensing technologies until they found one they thought a) was sensible and b) they could build. This is not usually a fruitful approach, but their execution was exemplary, including pivoting away from municipal wastewater treatment (for now) to a far more productive initial market. Strong past decision making is an excellent predictor of future decision making.

Strong Competitive Position - Already

2S Water’s unit is cheaper, faster, and more accurate than alternative solutions (e.g. external or in-house lab testing). They’re solving one specific problem really, really well (metals detection) while competitors are claiming a wider aperture (e.g. organics sensing) but doing it with less accuracy than the mining sector needs - as proven by their winning a highly competitive bid against well-financed incumbents for their first deployment. Additionally, their physics-based solution is much faster than the competition’s chemistry-based solutions, allowing them to add 31 elements in the time it’s taken the competition to add fewer than 10.

Breadth of Applicability

This is not just about mining - though the market would be plenty big enough even if it was. Metals sensing alone (even before the potential future application of the 2S technology beyond metals) is crucial for semiconductor manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, all manner of biotech, metallurgical companies, electroplaters, car manufacturers and more. There is a lot of market to aim at, and to have a proven market-leading product this early in their journey is rare indeed.

 Anthea and all the team were relentlessly and quietly impressive through the investment process. Capable, logical, humble, confident and with a very serious amount of technical and commercial expertise being brought to bear. We’re excited to be involved. Anthea, Tony, and all the 2S Water team - our thanks for having us on board.