Former Intellectual Ventures exec named CEO of startup destroying PFAS ‘forever chemicals’

After five years, four in-the-field clean-up demos, and more than a dozen lab tests, the “forever chemical” destruction startup Aquagga is ready to commercialize its technology with a new CEO at the helm.

Dhileep Sivam is leading the Tacoma, Wash., company building devices that can eliminate 99% of the PFAS present in contaminated water.

Sivam brings a deep and varied background in technology to the role.

For nearly a decade he worked at Intellectual Ventures, an investment firm led by former Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold that has helped create more than a dozen startups. He was most recently an entrepreneur-in-residence at the University of Washington’s Clean Energy Institute, and previously was vice president of sciences at Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy, an umbrella organization tackling climate change.

“At this stage in my career, I really want to work on a mission that I find personally meaningful,” Sivam said. “I want to work on a technology that I think is effective and actually going to make an impact out in the market. And most importantly, I want to work with a group of good people — the right culture, high trust, high performing environment.”

Aquagga is a for-profit, public benefit corporation. It launched in 2019 and has been testing and building PFAS destruction devices that incorporate technology from the UW and the Colorado School of Mines.

The company was founded by Chief Operations Officer Chris Woodruff, Chief Technology Officer Brian Pinkard, and former CEO Nigel Sharp, who stepped down in August.

The 18-person startup has landed federal grants and contracts as well as customer revenue totaling more than $10 million. Aquagga has raised $1.1 million from investors and early next year will be pursuing a Series A round, Sivam said.

Aquagga is tackling an ongoing challenge that’s decades in the making.

Companies have added a variety of PFAS chemicals to wide-ranging products for their ability to repel water, stains and grease. PFAS has been added to firefighting foams, food packaging, carpets and fabrics, clothing and cookware. They’re also used in the fabrication of semiconductors, which is a growing sector domestically.

The long-lived chemicals are able to escape from products and now contaminate drinking water nationwide. In April, the federal government issued drinking water standards limiting PFAS to parts per trillion levels, and some versions of the chemical have been banned.

Addressing that pollution resonates to Sivam.

“It’s just a really compelling mission — safe drinking water is such a fundamental right for people,” he said.

In humans, PFAS can cause reduced immune response, developmental effects or delays in children, increased incidence of some kinds of cancers, and hormonal impacts.

Compared to other solutions, Aquagga’s technology is relatively compact; runs at lower temperatures and pressures; can operate continuously; and treats the trickier to destroy small PFAS compounds.

Aquagga has tested its devices at PFAS cleanup projects at an airport in Alaska, a U.S. Air Force Base, a 3M industrial facility and a U.S. Department of Defense site.

The startup has been ramping up its sales operations, Sivma said, and could target a variety of markets. It plans to sell and lease the devices. It could also potentially offer a centralized location for PFAS destruction where customers could bring in concentrated, contaminated water and have it treated — sort like taking in old documents to be shredded.

The planned commercial device, dubbed the Stampede system, will be the size of a standard shipping container. It will include technology that can combines temperatures of 570 degrees Fahrenheit, high pressure, and caustic conditions to break the PFAS into non-toxic components.

The team has so far been building the devices in-house, but is also considering partnering with an outside manufacturer. The plan is to begin shipping the Stampede devices by the end of next year.

While Sivam can go deep on the technology, he’s most excited about the management roles he’ll play, including leading the Aquagga team and interacting with customers and understanding their needs.

“Something that’s been a passion of mine is people management,” he said. “I really feel like a role like that is a wonderful opportunity to help other people be their best and do great work.”

The name Aquagga is a play on “quagga,” an extinct relative of the African zebra. The team says it’s a “zebra company” seeking to cooperate on PFAS destruction, compared to hard-charging unicorn companies driven by competition.

“Dhileep’s track record in sustainability and cleantech innovation is both impressive and closely aligned with our core values of curiosity, professionalism, and, first and foremost, social and environmental impact,” said Woodruff in a statement.

Related: ‘Forever chemicals’ are eternal no more thanks to a pollution destroying device from Tacoma startup