Global oil giant Saudi Aramco said its corporate venturing subsidiary Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV) has acquired a major stake in Irish wastewater treatment technology company OxyMem.

The Saudi group’s funding will help OxyMem to boost investment in product development and expansion of its manufacturing capacity and increase its sales force.

OxyMem said its membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) technology has the potential to bring wastewater treatment closer to energy neutrality by reducing energy consumption for aeration by up to 75 per cent.

Last year, OxyMem secured an investment from Dow Water and Process Solutions, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company.

The funds raised will enable OxyMem to further focus on growing the business by increasing investments in product development, expanding its manufacturing capacity, and increasing its sales force, it stated.

Wayne Byrne, the managing director of OxyMem, said: “We feel strongly supported by Saudi Aramco and believe this investment will add momentum to our market development goals, particularly in some of the more water stressed regions.”

“I believe that we have an important technology that can make a sizeable contribution in the wastewater market where there is a significant need for more efficient solutions,” he added.

Bruce Niven, chief investment officer of SAEV, said the Irish group’s MABR is a compelling technology for energy reduction, and we see a clear need for such solutions in the fast-growing Middle East and North Africa (Mena) market.

“We look forward to working with the OxyMem team to further develop their transformative wastewater technology,” he added.