Water tech company SciDev Limited (ASX: SDV) has been engaged by infrastructure services provider Ventia to undertake water treatment services in Victoria. The Company will supply a Build Own Operate (BOO) temporary water treatment plant in Victoria to treat PFAS-contaminated surface water.

The contract’s initial revenue value is approximately $2 million, which is anticipated to be generated over a six-month period.

SciDev CEO Seán Halpin said, “It is a testament to the industry leading results that our PFAS treatment solutions deliver that we have been able to be awarded additional contracts with Ventia. With a growing focus on PFAS remediation and regulation globally, SciDev is well-positioned to continue growing our market share and profitability as we help our clients solve their water contamination issues.”

PFAS refers to a group of man-made chemicals used in various industrial and consumer products. They are known as “forever chemicals” because they linger in the environment and can affect living organisms like humans and animals. Research has tied PFAS to negative health impacts, including cancer.

Overall, PFAS makes up a $250 billion addressable market. Contaminated sites include airports, defence bases, mines, fire and rescue stations and other industrial sites. Both regulation and funding in the space have increased globally, creating a profitable market opportunity for SciDev.

For Ventia, SciDev will build, own, and operate a water treatment plant (WTP) to treat PFAS-contaminated surface and groundwater. The WTP will use SciDev’s proprietary PFAS treatment technology, FluorofIX™, to remove PFAS prior to discharge. FluorofIX™ is a mobile, fully customisable, market-leading solution that has been successfully tested across a wide range of technically challenging commercial applications.

SciDev works in developing and applying services, chemistry and process control for solids-liquid separation. Its solutions allow clients to reuse water, improve operational efficiencies and reduce their environmental footprints.

In H1 FY24, the Company’s revenue remained flat on PCP, amounting to $50.3 million. It saw an 8% profit growth to $12.6 million and a 29% EBITDA surge to $3.2 million. It ended the half with $5.8 million cash in hand. 

The Company commenced previously delayed PFAS projects in Queensland and New South Wales, with revenue contribution from the projects to grow in H2 FY24. SciDev secured a $4.7 million, two-year extension PFAS contract with a blue-chip Australian mining client, where FluorofIX has treated over one billion litres of PFAS-contaminated water to date.

Plus, it secured a purchase order from a blue-chip mining client in Western Australia to supply and support Water Quality Monitoring Systems in five operational mine sites. Finally, the Company appointed a vice president of North America for Water Technologies who is responsible for implementing strategic initiatives to drive the growth of its Water Technologies vertical in the North American market.

For the remainder of FY24, the Company wants to use its water tech to secure and generate revenue across the North American and European PFAS pipelines, spanning the US Department of Defence and private industries.

SciDev previously supported Ventia on a similar site, reducing PFAS contamination to below-detectable levels. Following the original project’s success, Ventia is entrusting SciDev to treat PFAS contamination on additional sites.