silvertex aqua Closes Venture Capital Financing Round

Hoppegarten, 17. December 2020 – silvertex aqua GmbH, provider of an innovative silver ion-based water conservation system, announces the closing of its first round of financing. Brandenburg Kapital from Potsdam, a subsidiary of the Brandenburg development bank ILB, and Tonne Beteiligungsverwaltungsgesellschaft from Hamburg as co-investor, are participating.

Water is life! This is the motto for product development and market development of silvertex aqua GmbH. In doing so, the company relies on the bacteriostatic (germ-inhibiting) and bactericidal (germ-reducing) effect of silver ions in liquids, which was already known in ancient times. Silver-coated containers were used to protect water and food from spoiling, and wounds were also treated with silver.

In order to inhibit bacterial and biofilm growth, it is not only the silver, but also the silver ions that dissolve from the silver surface when in contact with water and stop the bacteria in the water from multiplying and thus permanently reducing them. It is precisely this solution that has brought silvertex® to application maturity. An internationally patented invention has been developed over several years of research and development cooperation between TU Dresden and TU Chemnitz as well as textile companies. silvertex® is a textile synthetic knitted fabric with integrated silver-plated threads that provide the necessary reservoir for the continuous and controlled release of silver ions in water. The flexible silvertex® material can be inserted into almost any type of water tank or circuit and is ideal for protecting various types of water from microbial contamination such as bacteria (Legionella, Pseudomonas, E. Coli etc.), fungi/spores, viruses and biofilm.

Since 2016, silvertex aqua GmbH has been distributing the technology in various product applications and markets, such as drinking water supplies for humans and animals, cooling circuits, process and production water, air conditioning systems and air purifiers. Several inter-national orders have been successfully completed this year and should be expanded in the coming years.

At their own online store GooWaCo.de, products for water treatment and analysis as well as textiles can be ordered directly by the customer. The silvertex team is looking forward to the next growth steps.

Birgit Dürsch, founder and managing partner of silvertex aqua GmbH, reports: "Our smallest application is the just 25 cm² silvertex® mat, which has been successfully performing its germ protection service in air washers from well-known manufacturers since this year 2020. The largest application is found in the cooling circuit of a steel mill with 130 m² silvertex®, which is used as a reliable long-term protection against Legionella and other germs. In recent years, many camping friends in Germany and other European countries will also have come to know and love the "silver net" as a protection against germs in their mobile drinking water tanks.

Sven Böhmer, Head of Product Development at silvertex aqua GmbH, adds: "We still see so many areas of application that we can equip with our product applications. Our customers also come to us with wishes and good ideas for using the advantages of silvertex®, this easy-to-install, self-dosing and chlorine-reducing long-term protection for water and water-bearing systems, for their products and applications. silvertex® can also provide energy and cost savings, as no additional dosing equipment or operating current is required.

Dr. Jörn Tonne, co-investor, recalls: "Our company's cooling tower already served as a pilot plant for testing silvertex® as a hygiene agent during the development phase a few years ago and was then successfully used as standard and as a replacement for chlorine. As a chemist, I can judge how effective the silvertex® method is. As an entrepreneur, I am convinced of the extraordinary scalability of the silvertex® system".

Dr. Torsten Fiegler, Investment Manager at Brandenburg Kapital, wants to use the current financing to switch to growth and expansion in order to pave the way for the ecological solution of silvertex®. The motivated team can significantly change existing markets for water conservation in the coming years.

About silvertex aqua GmbH

silvertex aqua GmbH was founded by Birgit Dürsch in 2015 and took over the exclusive production and distribution license for silvertex®, a knitted and internationally patented technical textile with partial silver coating. Due to its special silver surface nature, the optimally large contact surface in the water releases a low concentration of silver ions in a constant and self-dosing manner, which, when in contact with bacterial cells, prevents them from dividing and thus multiplying. This makes silvertex® not only suitable as a self-sufficient long-term protection, but also as an alternative to the use of chemical and thermal disinfection or can reduce it. www.silvertex-aqua.de

About Brandenburg Kapital/ ILB

Brandenburg Kapital GmbH is a subsidiary of the Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg (ILB). Since 1993, the venture capital arm of ILB has been providing venture capital to companies located in Brandenburg. As a public venture capital company, experienced lead investor and active partner, Brandenburg Kapital ensures a strong equity base of start-ups and small and medium-sized companies in the State of Brandenburg based on a stable corporate environment. The Early-Stage and Growth Fund currently has around 100 million euros available for this purpose. The fund resources for the Brandenburg Kapital Fund, which was established on behalf of the Brandenburg Ministry of Economics, are currently provided by the European Fund for Regional Development and ILB's own resources. To date, ILB's investment activities have supported 228 companies on their growth course with around 248 million euros. In addition, private investors have so far invested more than 450 million euros in the companies.

For more information: www.brandenburg-kapital.de