OXbyEL Technologies

Cover Block

Field	Value
Name	OXbyEL Technologies
Tagline	Developing destructive PFAS water treatment technology for zero liquid discharge
Headquarters	1529 W Seldon Ln, Phoenix, Arizona, 85021, United States
Founded	2018
Stage	Seed
Business Model	B2B
Industry	Cleantech / Climatetech
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Co-Founders (2)
Funding Label	Undisclosed
Total Disclosed	~$250,000

Links

• Website: https://oxbyel.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oxbyel-technologies

The Short Version

OXbyEL Technologies is an Arizona-based cleantech company commercializing an electrochemical reactor that claims to mineralize PFAS in water and wastewater without generating secondary waste [LinkedIn]. The company was founded in 2018 by Edward Ricci and Dr. Colleen Legzdins [OXbyEL, About Page].

Its core product, the TOF Electrolyzer, is a single-step, continuous flow-through method to destroy PFAS in minutes without dosing chemicals or producing spent media [OXbyEL, Technology Page] [US EPA]. The team pairs Ricci, a 35-year veteran of the environmental services business [F6S] [Water Innovation Nation, 2024], with Legzdins, a technologist serving as VP Technology [Crunchbase].

Disclosed external capital is anchored by a $250,000 grant tied to the National Science Foundation in December 2022 and a subsequent NSF SBIR Phase II award (#174733) to harden the prototype reactor and validate performance at a 70 ppt combined PFAS concentration [CB Insights, Dec 2022] [SBIR.gov].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Confirmed by Crunchbase, CB Insights, NSF SBIR records, and the company's own technology pages.

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis	Value
Stage	Seed
Business Model	B2B
Industry / Vertical	Cleantech / Climatetech (PFAS water treatment)
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Co-Founders (2)
Funding	Grant-backed, ~$250,000 disclosed

The Company in Brief

OXbyEL was incorporated in 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona [PitchBook]. The company was formed around the founders' shared interest in eliminating pollutants in water and wastewater rather than transferring them between media [OXbyEL, About Page].

Public traces of activity include participation in the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation's incubator programming [CEI]. A September 2022 appearance in the CONNECTpreneur Virtual Rocket Pitch session disclosed a five-person team and a pending patent (USPTO application 16/458,608) [CONNECTpreneur, Sep 2022].

A $250,000 grant was logged in December 2022 with the National Science Foundation [CB Insights, Dec 2022]. Selection as an NSF SBIR Phase II awardee under award #174733 to validate the reactor at relevant PFAS concentrations [NSF SBIR] [SBIR.gov]. The US EPA's SBIR program has independently described OXbyEL's approach as a low-cost, continuous flow-through electrochemical mineralization method [US EPA].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Confirmed by Crunchbase, PitchBook, CB Insights, and the company's own About page.

What They Have Built

The product is a water treatment system built around a proprietary electrochemical reactor called the TOF Electrolyzer. The reactor is designed for single-step PFAS mineralization with no secondary waste and without ongoing chemical dosing [OXbyEL, Technology Page].

The configuration pairs membrane separation with the electrolyzer to concentrate the PFAS-bearing stream and destroy the contaminants, targeting a zero liquid discharge outcome [OXbyEL, Solution Page] [ZoomInfo]. The value proposition is chemical-free treatment that mineralizes total organic fluorine, including long- and short-chain PFAS and unidentified precursors [OXbyEL, Advantages Page].

The US EPA independently describes the approach as a "low-cost, continuous flow-through method to electrochemically mineralize PFAS in minutes with no secondary waste" [US EPA]. The active NSF SBIR Phase II workstream is scoped to modify the prototype reactor, validate performance at a combined PFAS concentration of 70 parts per trillion, and develop capital and operating cost figures [SBIR.gov]. A patent application (16/458,608) has been disclosed as pending [CONNECTpreneur, Sep 2022].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Company-page claims partially corroborated by US EPA SBIR program description and an active NSF SBIR Phase II award; field performance data not yet public.

Market Research and Opportunity

In April 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency finalized the first National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for six PFAS compounds, setting enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels of 4.0 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS [US EPA]. Public water systems must complete initial monitoring by 2027 and achieve compliance by 2029. Separately, the EPA designated PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA, creating cleanup liability at contaminated sites.

OXbyEL's NSF SBIR Phase II scope explicitly targets the 70 ppt combined PFAS concentration band relevant to this regulatory environment [SBIR.gov]. Demand drivers include the 2029 compliance deadline, state-level PFAS limits, the Department of Defense's ongoing remediation of PFAS plumes, and industrial tort exposure.

Competitive substitution differentiates destruction from separation. Incumbent approaches, such as granular activated carbon and ion exchange resin, concentrate PFAS onto a sorbent that must then be disposed of. Electrochemical destruction competes on energy cost per gram of fluoride mineralized and the ability to handle real-world matrices [OXbyEL, Advantages Page].

Who Else Is Fighting for This

OXbyEL sits in the destructive PFAS treatment segment. The segment breaks into three groups: separation incumbents (Calgon Carbon, Xylem, Purolite), destruction challengers (electrochemical oxidation, supercritical water oxidation, plasma-based destruction), and adjacent substitutes (foam fractionation).

OXbyEL's edge is the integration claim: pairing membrane concentration with on-site electrochemical destruction to target zero liquid discharge for industrial customers [OXbyEL, Solution Page] [ZoomInfo]. The Ricci and Legzdins backgrounds in industrial wastewater and refinery consulting are a credible fit for that customer set [OXbyEL, About Page] [Water Innovation Nation, 2024].

Independent EPA SBIR program recognition adds third-party credibility [US EPA]. Durability depends on patent issuance (16/458,608), Phase II performance validation, and engineering scale-up capability. OXbyEL is exposed on capital and channel compared to incumbents with decades of utility relationships and balance sheets that can offer treatment-as-a-service contracts.

Opportunity

If OXbyEL's destruction chemistry holds up at field scale, the prize is becoming a default destruction back-end for industrial PFAS compliance in North America.

Scenario	What happens	Catalyst	Why it's plausible
Industrial ZLD specialist	OXbyEL wins paid pilots at industrial dischargers and standardizes a membrane-plus-electrolyzer skid	First paid commercial pilot disclosed alongside SBIR Phase II validation	Founders' refinery consulting roots and integration approach map to this buyer
DoD and Superfund destruction subcontractor	OXbyEL becomes a destruction step inside larger remediation contracts	Teaming agreement with an environmental services contractor	NSF SBIR pathway feeds federal procurement; CERCLA creates demand
Municipal back-end via OEM partnership	OXbyEL licenses or co-sells the electrolyzer to an established water major	OEM or distribution agreement with a tier-one water company	Destruction-versus-separation gap is understood by water majors

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Opportunity sizing rests on confirmed regulatory facts and publicly known peer comparables; specific commercial outcomes are scenarios, not forecasts.

Sources

1. [PitchBook] OXbyEL Technologies 2026 Company Profile | https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/501558-85
2. [ZoomInfo] OxByEl Overview | https://www.zoominfo.com/c/oxbyel/542320023
3. [OXbyEL, About Page] About OXbyEL Technologies Inc. | https://oxbyel.com/about/
4. [OXbyEL, Solution Page] Solution OXbyEL Technologies Inc. | https://oxbyel.com/solution/
5. [OXbyEL, Technology Page] Technology OXbyEL Technologies Inc. | https://oxbyel.com/technology/
6. [OXbyEL, Advantages Page] Advantages OXbyEL Technologies Inc. | https://oxbyel.com/advantages/
7. [Crunchbase] OXbyEL Technologies Profile | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/oxbyel-technologies
8. [Crunchbase] Colleen Legzdins VP Technology | https://www.crunchbase.com/person/colleen-legzdins
9. [CB Insights, Dec 2022] OXbyEL Financials | https://www.cbinsights.com/company/oxbyel/financials
10. [Tracxn] OXbyEL Technologies Profile | https://tracxn.com/d/companies/oxbyel-technologies/__42iKV7y_6zV7ITQr5IRLH7GPJsI00wVOufOvtminb1k
11. [LinkedIn] OXbyEL Technologies, Inc. | https://www.linkedin.com/company/oxbyel-technologies
12. [CEI] Attacking PFAS Contamination | https://www.ceigateway.com/attacking-pfas-contamination/
13. [US EPA] Test and Treat PFAS: EPA SBIR Technologies | https://www.epa.gov/sbir/test-and-treat-pfas-epa-sbir-technologies
14. [CONNECTpreneur, Sep 2022] Virtual Rocket Pitch | https://connectpreneur.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/bicp_2022_sep.pdf
15. [SBIR.gov] NSF SBIR Phase II Award #174733 | https://www.sbir.gov/
16. [F6S] Edward D. Ricci Profile | https://www.f6s.com/
17. [Water Innovation Nation, 2024] Edward Ricci OXbyEL Profile | https://waterinnovationnation.com/