Boarding PassCoppter’s mission to lower toxic chemicals in our swimming pools
Boarding Pass
Coppter’s mission to lower toxic chemicals in our swimming pools
The company has raised half a million dollars to penetrate a $35 billion tertiary water and wastewater treatment market
“There is a movement in the swimming pool disinfection market to lower the use of toxic chemicals – especially chlorine and to move into safer solutions such as UV systems and Salt Chlorinators,” explained Coppter Water Technologies. “Since the current alternatives to chlorine are not sufficient, additional alternatives are needed.”
Coppter Water Technologies Ltd. is an Israeli startup company under the InNegev Incubator located in the Negev. The company will soon open a new round of investment for the company’s activities in 2024 including beta sites for the disinfection of swimming pools and jacuzzies, building/partnering of manufacturing infrastructure, and a POC in a pilot of systems for a medium wastewater treatment plant.
“Our systems provide a ‘green’ solution for safe water including swimming pools, jacuzzis, and wastewater treatment for use in agriculture, water reservoirs, and more.”
The systems recycle the active anti-microbial form of copper and offer a safe and low-cost solution for maintaining clean water without bacteria and other microorganisms. You can learn more about the company below.
Company Name: Coppter Water Technologies Ltd.
Sector: Clean-Tech
Product/Service description:
The company’s core development is a system for water disinfection using a monovalent copper ion (Cu+). The system includes the use of divalent copper ions at a low concentration (that is permitted according to the regulatory rules for drinking) with a cell that converts them into monovalent copper ions that are active in these low concentrations against microorganisms. The monovalent copper ion is constantly recycled in our electrochemical system. The product may give a “green” solution for safe water including wastewater treatment for use in agriculture, water reservoirs, swimming pool, and more.
Currently Coppter Water Technologies Ltd. demonstrated its disinfecting systems in the following ways:
- 20 cubic meter swimming pools - solving the disadvantages of chlorine use: safety problems, health problems, and environmental damage. Additionally, our systems are cheaper and with lower maintenance costs compared to alternative disinfection methods such as UV treatment and salt chlorinators.
- Tertiary wastewater treatment – Our systems save up to 80% of alternative disinfection methods that are used in tertiary wastewater treatment such as UV treatment and Ozonation. Therefore, potentially by using our system, recycled wastewater that is currently used for the irrigation of trees solely may be used in an economic process for the irrigation of field crops such as vegetables. We are currently having a pilot for the implantation of our system in a wastewater plant as a tertiary (anti-microbial) treatment.
Founder Bios:
Dr. Magal Saphier, Founder, Director, CTO: Dr. Saphier has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Ben Gurion University. He is a Principle Investigator at Shamoon College of Engineering (SCE) and gained over 20 years of copper research. He has extensive experience in managing R&D projects (Makhteshim, NRCN, and Green Engineering).
Dr. Oshra Saphier, Founder: Dr. Saphier has a Ph.D. in Chemistry. From the Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. She is a Senior Lecturer and researcher in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Shamoon College of Engineering (SCE). Her research and development activities include the fields of antioxidants in nutrition and antimicrobial formulations containing monovalent copper ions.
Year of Founding: 2022
Last Investment Round: $300,000
Last Investment Stage: Pre-Seed
Date of Last Investment: March 2023
Total investment to date: $500,000
Investors: InNegev, Magal Saphier
Current number of employees: 5
Open positions: 0
How was the idea born?
The idea was born in multi-disciplinary research at Sami Shamoon College of Engineering. Looking for the functions and the commercial uses of copper ions Dr. Saphier's research group found a very potent anti-microbial activity of Monovalent copper ions. The Innegev Incubator directed this invention after market research for developing systems for water treatment.
What is the need for the product?
The need is for a safe and low-cost disinfection agent/system for water and wastewater.
How is it changing the market?
There is a movement in the swimming pool disinfection market to lower the use of toxic chemicals – especially chlorine and to move into more safe solutions, such as UV systems and Salt Chlorinators. Since the current alternatives to chlorine are not sufficient, additional alternatives are needed.
Our systems provide a “green” solution for safe water including swimming pools, jacuzzis, and wastewater treatment for use in agriculture, water reservoirs, and more. Our systems recycle the active anti-microbial form of copper and provide a safe and low-cost solution for maintaining the water clear and without bacteria and other microorganisms. They also provide a pleasant swimming experience without irritated eyes and/or skin.
How big is the market for the product and who are its main customers?
The annual sales of spa and swimming disinfectant systems are $1.65 billion worldwide. We believe that we may gain over 5% of this market.
The market size of tertiary water and wastewater treatment is $35 billion.
Does the product exist already? If not - at what stage is it and when is it expected to hit the market?
For swimming pools: we have a prototype operating in a 20-cubic-meter swimming pool.
We hope to have a product ready for sale by the end of 2024.
For tertiary wastewater treatment: we are establishing these days a pilot of our prototype at the Lahav wastewater treatment plant, and we hope to have a product ready for the market in 2025.
Who are the main competitors in this sector and how big are they?
The main companies are: Hayward (19% of the market), Pentair (20% of the market), Fluidra (6% of the market), and Culligan (7% of the market).
What is the added value that the founders bring to the company and the product?
The founders have unique experience in copper ions research and in providing practical solutions to chemical systems.
What will the money coming in from the round be used for?
We plan to use the money from the coming round for the following purposes:
- POC - systems for 20-50m3 swimming pools & spas
- Beta sites - swimming pools and jacuzzies
- Regulation, production and penetration of the market of private swimming pools and spas
- Building/partnering in manufacturing infrastructure
- Expanding and establishing BD, marketing & sales capabilities
- POC - systems for 100m3/day wastewater treatment plant
- Developing additional applications (mainly in agriculture)
In the "Startup Boarding Pass" section, CTech will cover the (relatively) small investments made in companies during the early stages of their existence - and the entrepreneurs and startups who have not yet had the opportunity to reveal their stories to the world. Please use the linked form and fill it out according to the guidelines. This form is intended for startups raising between $500,000 and $3 million from venture capital funds, angels, or official grants from Israeli and foreign institutions. If relevant, someone at CTech will be in touch for follow-up questions.
