Aramco Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant, has participated in a $36 million funding round for Via Separations, a US-based deeptech company developing energy-efficient industrial filtration systems. The investment, made alongside Climate Investment and Marathon Petroleum Corporation, signals a strategic move towards decarbonizing heavy industry.
Quick Facts
- MENA Investor: Saudi Arabia’s Aramco Ventures.
- Company: US-based deeptech firm Via Separations.
- Investment: Participation in a $36 million round.
Electrifying Industrial Processes
Founded in 2016, Via Separations is tackling one of the biggest sources of industrial energy consumption: thermal separation. These heat-based processes, which account for roughly 12% of global energy use, are being replaced by the company’s modular filtration platform.
By using a mechanically driven membrane process instead of heat, Via’s system can slash energy consumption at the separation step by up to 90%. This approach not only lowers operating costs but also improves uptime and provides a direct path for electrifying traditionally fossil-fuel-dependent industrial operations.
A Strategic Bet on Industrial Efficiency
The investment aligns with Aramco’s focus on technologies that can improve efficiency within its core operations. Via Separations has already proven its technology at a commercial scale in the pulp and paper industry and is now expanding into the refining and chemicals sectors—areas of direct relevance to its new Saudi backer. The company completed a pilot at a major Gulf Coast refinery last year and has hundreds of millions of dollars in capital projects in its commercial pipeline.
“At Aramco Ventures, we invest in differentiated technologies that can deliver clear operational value at scale,” said Tibor Toth, Senior Investment Director at Aramco Ventures. “Via Separations’ modular platform addresses a critical step in industrial processing and has strong potential to enhance efficiency and unlock additional capacity within existing refining and chemical assets.”
The new funding will be used to accelerate the global deployment of its technology, expand manufacturing capacity, and drive adoption across new industrial sectors.
“By proving our technology commercially in one sector, we’ve built the foundation to scale into the much larger refining and chemicals markets,” said Shreya Dave, CEO of Via Separations. “This investment enables us to deliver more commercial projects across the product portfolio, expand manufacturing capacity, and accelerate global adoption of membrane‑based separations.”
About Via Separations
Via Separations is a US-based deeptech company that develops modular filtration systems designed to replace heat-based industrial separation processes. Its technology aims to significantly reduce energy use, lower emissions, and improve operational resilience for industries such as pulp and paper, refining, and chemicals.
Source: Wamda
