Brothers Eric and Brian Sheng launched Aquaria in 2021 with a goal to create a sustainable source of water supply for cities around the world. They created an atmospheric water generator that uses material science and heat exchange technology to condense the humidity in the air into liquid water.

The modular generator runs on renewable energy and filters and purifies the water after it is extracted from the air. “Our air not only supplies us with the oxygen we need to breathe, it provides us with the essential water we need to survive,” said Brian Sheng.

Aquaria has built units that range in costs from $3,500 to $30,000, and can produce as much as 264 gallons of water from the air per day. The average American household uses more than 300 gallons of water daily, according to the EPA.

The new round of funding will help the San Francisco-based B Corp. build what it is calling a “Hydrogrid,” kind of like the water version of a solar farm, to supply its atmospheric water to 1,000 homes in Hawaii. Aquaria’s hydrogrid will be powered using solar power.

Water infrastructure

The investment round was led by a $100 million offtake agreement with Upswell Water, a San Francisco-based sustainable-focused water resource and infrastructure company. The Aquaria and Upswell partnership, which will install the atmospheric water generators for decentralized water to communities, is fully backed by Climate Adaptive Infrastructure. Aquaria will cover 100% of the upfront costs for qualifying projects through pay-over-time agreements.

Aquaria is looking for other partnership opportunities to supply water to green hydrogen and mining sites and data centers, with a focus on those located in remote areas where water access is costly and complex. Aquaria is also targeting opportunities with commercial real estate developers.

Other investors in Aquaria’s round include Ciri Ventures, Soma Capital, Bow Capital, Umami Capital and former house majority leader Dick Gephardt.