Emeritus Professor Philip Davies
Professor of Water Technology
Staff profile for Professor Philip A. Davies, Professor of Water Technology at the University of Birmingham
Spin-out: Salinity Solutions
The company has developed a technology that has been described as the most significant advance in water treatment in 50 years.
At the most fundamental level, humanity needs two resources to sustain life on Earth: energy and water. Yet both are under strain.
Today, half of the world’s population experiences severe water scarcity for at least part of the year, while many conventional solutions remain highly energy-intensive. Against this backdrop, Salinity Solutions, a spin-out from the University of Birmingham, is pioneering breakthrough technology that could transform the way the world secures safe, sustainable water.
Left to right: Steve Dunn, Commercial Director; Richard Bruges, CEO; Jim Gilroy, Head of Marketing; Liam Burlace, Development Engineer; Tim Naughton, co-founder and Chief Technical Officer; Jonathan Grylls, Electrical Engineering Manager
The company has developed HyBatch™, a patented, next-generation membrane water treatment process. Unlike conventional reverse osmosis, which produces large amounts of waste, HyBatch uses a hybrid batch process which reduces energy consumption by more than 50%, achieves recovery rates of up to 98%, and cuts waste volumes by as much as 80%. The system also requires little to no chemical pretreatment and delivers higher-quality water.
Described as the most significant advance in water treatment in 50 years, it has potential across multiple sectors.
We’ve got three fields of play for developing the technology: municipal wastewater treatment, industrial process water for cooling data centres or pharmaceutical manufacturing, and lithium extraction in mining. We’ve begun serious negotiations on licensing arrangements with several global partners, and there are many more applications to explore down the road.
The company is working with SUEZ International on municipal water treatment, and Chilean mining company SQM has invested in a project to use the technology for lithium extraction.
Salinity Solutions began with research on batch reverse osmosis led by Professor Philip Davies; the University of Birmingham played a critical role in first incubating the research, then supporting the commercial transition when the company spun out in 2021. With support from Enterprise, the spin-out gained the expertise and structure it needed, as well as guidance for intellectual property strategy and licensing. Enterprise’s guidance also shaped the company’s engagement strategy.
“We understand that we can’t be the manufacturing and operating delivery player ourselves. We need to work with large water engineering companies that can take the technology to end customers, whether municipal or industrial. Getting those players interested has been critical to our marketing story, ensuring our message reaches the right people in the right way,” says Mr Bruges.
Salinity Solutions built relationships with leading industry publications such as Global Water Intelligence (GWI), and won the 2025 Global Water Summit Breakthrough Technology of the Year Award. It also secured its first licensing deal with RealZLD™ in India, confirming the scalability of its licensing-led business model.
Caption: Salinity Solutions continues to disrupt the water treatment market with significantly lower costs, reduced carbon footprints and easier adoption for industrial customers
At every stage, Enterprise has been central to Salinity Solutions’ journey. From supporting intellectual property management and licensing to facilitating investor connections and talent matching, Enterprise has provided the bridge between groundbreaking research and commercial reality, as well as putting the team together. “What we’ve had to do is focus on finding partners who are innovative and agile, and work with them to adopt our technology,” says Mr Bruges.
The next major hurdle is fundraising, but with a proven product, strong partnerships, and growing international traction, Salinity Solutions is well positioned. As Mr Bruges puts it: "We believe we have a good formula for success: we have a strong team, proven technology, and a market that truly needs what we’re offering."