Katadyn should take its desal tech to the next level

Backpackers and outdoors enthusiasts are likely familiar with Switerland’s Katadyn, which makes water filters, tablets, and water treatment products such as pumps. Established in 1926, the company is a global leader in portable water treatment, with its ceramic filters.

It also specializes in desalination, currently making various portable pumps aimed at the boating community, especially for emergency drinking needs, Katadyn’s Chairman Adrian Schmassmann told the Cleantech Group this week at the company's Zurich headquarters.

The 100-employee company has annual sales of about CHF 40 million ($39.1 million), with 40 percent of that coming from the United States. It has doubled its sales over the last eight years, he said.

Despite the global market potential for desalination, Schmassmann said the company is more interested in expanding its outdoor nutrition products. In order to supply to outdoor gear companies such as REI, he said Katadyn needs to broaden its product line.

However, Schmassmann said the company's desalination technology could process large quantities of water.

“All our technology could be scaled to more industrial applications,” he said.

The company has two such specialized applications, one where Katadyn has a few installations with a partner in Australia, where fresh water is extremely expensive. Australia is looking to increase its water production capacity through desalination (see Energy Recovery tech slated for new Australian desal plant).

The other is with Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute in a European Union-funded project that’s looking at Katadyn’s desalination technology for lab-based uses. Schmassmann wasn't able to provide much detail about the scope of the projects.

Earlier this year, scientists at the institute developed a way to obtain drinking water from air humidity, even in the desert, with a system based entirely on renewable energy (see Upside of humidity: New source of water in desert?).

It’s surprising Katadyn isn’t putting more effort into the potential of its portable desalination technology, especially because it offers the benefits of being non-energy intensive. One of its desal products runs independently of a generator; instead it is commonly run off standard marine batteries, photovoltaic cells or wind generators.

It’s also interesting that Schmassmann is against outsourcing the company’s manufacturing. Its products are produced in-house by hand, which Schmassmann claims is more efficient than automation.