We are thrilled to announce our latest investment in Solaq, an Amsterdam-based DeepTech company extracting drinking water from thin air using proprietary liquid desiccant technology. Graduate is joining the round alongside lead investor Connect the Drops.
Why we invest – Water scarcity affects hundreds of millions of people, and the dominant atmospheric water generation technology today (cooling condensation) breaks down exactly where the problem is worst: dry, arid regions. Solaq's liquid desiccant approach is built to work anywhere, from humid coastlines to deserts, and already has signed purchase orders in place across Spain, Mexico, and Brazil. That combination of a real, growing problem and de-risked commercial traction is what drew us in.
Market – Atmospheric water generation is still dominated by cooling-based systems, which struggle in low-humidity climates. That leaves the arid regions that need water security most underserved by current solutions. Solaq is positioning itself as the standardised, climate-independent alternative for exactly that segment, with early commercial traction already validating demand.
Technology – Solaq's containerized systems guarantee a fixed daily output of clean drinking water, regardless of climate. The core innovation is a proprietary absorber combined with a deliberately decoupled absorption and regeneration process, letting the system scale output by adding absorber units rather than redesigning the hardware. It's also energy-agnostic, running on grid electricity, solar thermal, or industrial waste heat, which opens up an additional route to market through industrial partners with excess heat to spare.
Team – Solaq is led by CEO Reuben Moore, who co-founded the company with Evert van Voorthuysen (technical co-founder) and Peter Solleveld (co-founder). The team is further strengthened by CTO Ian Smith, and other team members. Together, they bring deep field experience across hardware, water technology, and commercial deployment in exactly the markets Solaq is targeting.