Ceramic cembranes, VBact innovation, and Xylem’s reset
This episode spotlights three themes driving BlueTech’s current research cycle. Rhys and Divya open with the momentum behind ceramic membranes, ahead of the 11 December web briefing with Dr. Graham Pearce and the release of BlueTech’s Ceramic Membranes 2025 Update. Once a 2% niche, ceramics now claim ~10% of the market, lifted by cost reductions, flat-sheet formats, and the EU’s proposed PFAS restrictions that could phase out PVDF. With players like MetaWater, Sōbra, Stech, and Filtech expanding into wastewater and desalination, ceramics are shifting from premium to increasingly mainstream.The episode then moves to BlueTech's Innovation Tracker, highlighting VBact, a 4.5/5 BlueTruffle-rated bacterial scanner offering real-time, AI-driven microbial monitoring at low operating cost. Already deployed in food and beverage, it stands out for continuous phenotypic fingerprinting—though regulatory acceptance remains the key barrier. A full report on bacterial monitoring systems lands next month.Finally, the hosts examine Aurelius’ acquisition of Xylem’s international metering business, a move TAG experts describe as strategic refocusing. The divestment allows Xylem to double down on software, analytics, and digital twin partnerships, while Aurelius takes on a complex, hardware-heavy portfolio.Together, these threads capture the technology, regulation, and market shifts framing BlueTech’s year-end research priorities--Presented by BlueTech Research®, Actionable Water Technology Market Intelligence. Watch the trailer of Our Blue World: A Water Odyssey. Get involved, and learn more on the website: braveblue.world
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