UniSieve revolutionizes heavy industry with environmentally-friendly molecular separation technology

Heavy industry is currently facing the challenge of having to decarbonize its production processes very quickly. To be able to use certain chemicals in the manufacture of polymers or pharmaceutical products, these industries have to resort to separation and purification. This process, which accounts for over 10% of the world's energy consumption, is extremely energy-intensive.

Oil, gas, biomass or other basic raw materials are processed by cracking, i.e. the large molecules are broken down to form a mixture of smaller molecules known as "crude chemicals". Before these chemicals can be used, they need to be separated and purified. Standard chemical separation processes are based on distillation - a thermal process which uses enormous quantities of heat or cold.

A less energy-intensive separation process

This is where UniSieve comes in. The Zurich-based start-up has developed a molecule separation method that uses neither heat nor cold, but only sieves. The membranes developed by UniSieve allow small molecules to pass through while retaining larger ones. This molecular sieving technology is based on the principle of size exclusion separation, similar to a kitchen sieve used to separate pasta from water. "The special feature is that crystals can be used to fine-tune the aperture size or pore size, enabling molecules to be separated on a sub-nanometric scale," explains UniSieve CTO Elia Schneider.

A more efficient technique that consumes much less energy. "Thanks to this mechanical separation, which involves neither heat nor cold, energy consumption can be reduced by up to 90%", adds Samuel Hess, CEO of UniSieve.

Next market launch

The support of Innosuisse has played a crucial role in UniSieve's development. Through various financing, coaching and internationalization programs, the start-up has benefited from the expertise of coaches to review and strengthen its business strategy. The Internationalization Camps enabled the company to forge new relationships with potential customers and investors, and to obtain information on the economic situation outside Switzerland. UniSieve has also just received support for the development of a start-up innovation project. "This funding should enable us to bring our technology to market more quickly", explains Samuel Hess.

The company is now aiming to revolutionize carbon-intensive industries with its crystalline membranes. It plans to standardize large-scale production of its membranes, which can reach several thousand square meters per week. The company is currently testing its membranes for hydrocarbon separation and carbon capture, with a view to commercializing the first large-scale units in 2024.

UniSieve aims to become a key player in the urgent efforts to decarbonize heavy industry, offering an innovative molecular separation solution that reduces energy consumption while contributing to a cleaner, more sustainable future.

Support from Innosuisse

• BRIDGE Proof of Concept
• Start-up coaching: Initial, Core and Scale-up coaching
• Internationalization camps in Brazil and the United States
• Innovation projects for start-ups
• Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)
• Eurostars

Article provided by Innosuisse, written by Johanne Stettler, Innosuisse communications specialist
Image: Innosuisse