South African-born water treatment company GAST Clearwater was recently invited to join the prestigious Goldman Sachs Water Symposium in New York, where it discussed the numerous benefits of its next-generation water treatment technology – a revolutionary system that has been dubbed the “Tesla” of water treatment.

Attended by water industry titans, experts, and global entities, including investors and bankers with a specific focus on environmental innovations, the exclusive annual symposium offers companies the opportunity to discuss pressing topics such as future investment opportunities, opportunities and challenges in the industry, and water as part of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) frameworks.

As one of the five companies worldwide leading the industry’s evolution, GAST Clearwater was invited to participate in a panel discussion on the future of water treatment. Speaking at the event, South African business leader Kevin Gast, the co-founder and CEO of GAST Clearwater, particularly noted the benefits of its Advanced Low Tension Electroporation Process (ALTEP) system for cost-effectively and sustainably treating wastewater.

“Like the discovery of the light bulb or fusion reactions, our ALTEP system is ground-breaking in our field because it has completely changed the way in which humans treat water,” he explained.

“Through the use of this technology we are now able to treat so-called ‘dirty waters’ without relying on chemicals, biologicals, membranes or mechanical elements, minimising the environmental impact of water treatment processes or the need for maintenance. In addition to being more sustainable, this also means that our technology is up to 25% cheaper than traditional treatment systems, making our solution far more accessible and affordable for businesses and public entities.”

Worryingly, research by the World Health Organisation and Unicef shows that one in four people globally do not have access to safe drinking water, while the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that unsafe water is responsible for as many as 1.2 million deaths each year.

Addressing the need for improved, cost-effective water sanitation, GAST Clearwater’s ALTEP system is utilized in lieu of traditional treatment processes like reverse osmosis or chlorination.

“This system means that we can clean more types of water at a faster rate and far more efficiently than any conventional system currently on the market, no matter the quality of the source water. Additionally, this system achieves a very high throughput that is even able to destroy Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances or the PFAS chemicals which are a common concern around the world,” stated Gast.

Similar to the way in which Tesla’s battery systems disrupted the motor industry, this technology is likewise earmarked to disrupt the field of water treatment.

"As GAST Clearwater, our mission is clear: water for mankind, one drop at a time. We finally cracked the code and our new ALTEP system marks a revolutionary leap in technological capabilities within the water treatment space. We believe that our technology will become the gold standard in various industries and markets, but especially in secondary and tertiary treatment processes," he concluded.