ZwitterCo joins the ranks of Nvidia, YouTube, Taco Bell, and more
Boston, March 19, 2024 – ZwitterCo, the advanced membrane technology company, has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024.
This year’s list shines a spotlight on businesses that are shaping industry and culture through their innovations. These organizations are setting new standards and achieving remarkable milestones in all sectors of the economy. Alongside the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies, Fast Company recognizes 606 organizations across 58 sectors and regions.
“We are honored to be included among the progressive companies confronting the climate crisis,” said Alex Rappaport, co-founder and CEO of ZwitterCo. “It’s estimated that by 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages. We founded ZwitterCo with a singular mission to address this problem by making safe and commercially viable industrial water reuse a reality so we can decrease freshwater drawdown and make more water available for the public as the effects of climate change escalate. In 2024, we are rapidly expanding this vision to include water treatment for distressed industrial reverse osmosis systems.”
ZwitterCo allows industries to access new water sources and reuse previously unrecoverable wastewater to drive material impact in alleviating the water crisis. Its patented zwitterionic membrane technology is one of the only fouling-immune membranes and the first new membrane chemistry for industrial water treatment and reuse in decades.
Since its founding, ZwitterCo has been deploying its unique zwitterionic membrane technology to enable new industrial water treatment and reuse at scale globally within applications such as food production, landfill leachate, manure digestate, and surface water treatment. This includes a multi-year, exclusive partnership with Mott Corporation in 2023 to deliver waste solutions for manure and food-waste digesters and breweries and distilleries in North America. ZwitterCo’s membranes are also installed in a system at Brown County Organics as part of the world’s largest manure biogas project.
ZwitterCo’s newest product, a zwitterionic reverse osmosis (RO) membrane, is the industry’s first brackish water RO membrane built using fouling-immune technology that has a lower rate of fouling and the possibility of restoring performance using only a water flush. Companies using this technology as part of an early access program have been able to revolutionize their processes using this new membrane, and over four years, they could see a 50% reduction in operating costs. The new RO membrane comes on the heels of ZwitterCo opening its 30,000-square-foot innovation center, which is accelerating the development of its products and providing a research and prototyping space for innovation.
Being named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative list follows ZwitterCo’s recognition as Breakthrough Technology Company of the Year Award at the Global Water Summit, its invitation into Tyson Foods’ selective cohort of sustainability startups set to transform the food industry, and a spot on C&EN’s esteemed 2022 list of ’10 Start-Ups to Watch’.
The World’s Most Innovative Companies stands as Fast Company‘s hallmark franchise and one of its most anticipated editorial efforts of the year.
Fast Company‘s editors and writers identified the companies driving progress around the world and across industries, evaluating thousands of submissions through a competitive application process. The result is a globe-spanning guide to innovation today, from early-stage startups to some of the most valuable companies in the world. Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies package is available online, as well as in-app form via iTunes, and on newsstands beginning March 26. The hashtag is #FCMostInnovative.
“Our list of the Most Innovative Companies is both a comprehensive look at the innovation economy and a snapshot of the business trends that defined the year,” said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan. “We saw extraordinary innovation across the board in 2023, but we also saw a handful of clear patterns: the growing footprint and impact of AI, the triumphant return of live events, and great leaps forward in climate tech. We face daunting challenges on many fronts, but the solutions we celebrate in MIC give me plenty of hope about the future.”
Fast Company will host the Most Innovative Companies Summit and Gala on May 16. The summit features a morning and afternoon of inspiring content, followed by a creative black-tie gala including networking, a seated dinner, and an honoree presentation. This event celebrates the Most Innovative Companies honorees and provides an inside look at cutting-edge business trends and what it takes to innovate in 2024.
ABOUT ZWITTERCO
ZwitterCo’s membranes solve the most complex separation challenges, providing industries with the tools for advanced wastewater treatment and water reuse. The company leverages zwitterions’ remarkable organic fouling-immune technology to build membranes that enable years of operating life in hard-to-treat streams that would ruin conventional membranes in hours. ZwitterCo’s products are used in digestates, leachates, and various food & beverage wastewaters. The company has been recognized as Breakthrough Technology Company of the Year at the Global Water Summit and by the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation as a leader in clean water technologies. For more information, visit https://www.zwitterco.com/.
ABOUT FAST COMPANY
Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com.
