The most reliable sign of a water treatment plant is not the water. It is the steady procession of tanker trucks, hauling in tons of corrosive, carbon-intensive chemicals. For a utility manager, this parade represents a fixed cost, a logistical headache, and a stubborn line in the carbon ledger. CIWI, a Dutch startup spun out of TU Delft, thinks it can park those trucks for good.
The company installs shipping-container-sized electrochemical units that make the chemicals on-site. Feed it electricity, salt, and a steel electrode, and it produces the coagulants and pH-adjusting agents needed to clean water. The first commercial-scale pilot is now running at a Brabant Water facility in Zevenbergen, treating process water for the Dutch utility [CIWI]. For a sector built on bulk deliveries, it is a quiet but radical idea: turn a consumable into a utility.
A bet on electrochemical simplicity
CIWI’s technology is elegantly reductive. Instead of manufacturing aluminum- or iron-based coagulants in a centralized chemical plant and shipping them, the system uses electrolysis to release metal ions directly from a sacrificial steel anode inside the unit. Salt provides the necessary electrolyte. The result is a fresh, highly active coagulant produced exactly where it is used, with the main inputs being electricity and bulk materials that are easier and safer to store [Perplexity Sonar].
The economic math is compelling. In Western Europe, CIWI can achieve approximately 40% lower operational costs compared to conventional chemical procurement, using current market prices for iron chloride, caustic soda, and electricity [Author note, Jun 2026]. The process also offers significant CO2 reduction, around 50% with green electricity, and roughly 70% when combined with gas-based steel production [Author note, Jun 2026].
The academic engine and first traction
CIWI is a product of the Dutch water technology ecosystem. Co-founders Jasper Schakel and Erik Kraaijeveld developed the concept after learning about chemical access issues in Ghana, then partnered with TU Delft professor Doris van Halem, a leading expert in drinking water treatment, to develop the patented core technology [YES!Delft, Doris van Halem LinkedIn].
The company’s early progress is measured in pilot projects and awards. CIWI started with the IMD Venture Award, a CHF 100,000 prize Jasper Schakel received in 2023 [Author note, Jun 2026]. Since then, the company has been primarily bootstrapped, supported by family funding and paid pilot projects, including collaborations with Brabant Water and STOWA, working with more than eight Dutch water authorities [Author note, Jun 2026]. Following the Brabant Water installation, CIWI has also installed a system at the RWZI Lage Zwaluwe wastewater treatment plant [Jasper Schakel LinkedIn]. The team remains small, at about seven people [Water Alliance].
| Founder / Key Lead | Role | Background / Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Jasper Schakel | Co-Founder | IMD MBA |
| Erik Kraaijeveld | Co-Founder | TU Delft |
| Doris van Halem | Co-Founder, Professor | Professor of Drinking Water Technology, TU Delft |
Where the chemistry must meet the business
For all its technical elegance, CIWI’s path is not without solvents. The water treatment industry is conservative, with long procurement cycles and deep relationships with incumbent chemical suppliers like Kemira or SNF Floerger. Convincing a plant manager to swap a predictable, if inefficient, operating expense for a new piece of hardware is a classic innovator’s dilemma.
Financially, the company operates in a pre-commercial zone. Dealroom.co estimates an annual revenue of $598,885 and a valuation of $2 million, but these figures are unverified [Dealroom.co]. The reliance on bootstrapped and award funding rather than traditional venture capital suggests the business model and scaling plan are still being stress-tested.
The incumbent to beat
CIWI is not trying to out-chemist the chemical giants. It is trying to make their delivery model obsolete. The company it must beat is not a specific startup, but the entrenched system of bulk liquid transport. Its real competition is the tanker truck rolling up to the plant gate, a symbol of a century-old, carbon-heavy supply chain. If CIWI’s containers can prove they are more reliable and economical than that familiar schedule, the chemistry of the entire industry might just change.