Metal Morph raises $944k to recover aluminium chemicals from wastewater

London-based water technology company Metal Morph has raised USD 944,000 in pre-seed funding to develop technology that recovers aluminium- and iron-based treatment chemicals from municipal and industrial wastewater.

The round, announced on August 13, 2026, was co-led by Sustainable Ventures and Green Angel Ventures, with participation from Aqcelerator and Found Capital.

Metal Morph will use the funding to advance its resource-recovery technology, support industry pilots and expand into European markets. The company’s process is designed to capture treatment chemicals that would otherwise be discharged into sewers, sent to landfill or spread on land, and return them to water-treatment operations.

Recovering aluminium-based treatment chemicals

Metal Morph’s technology is not recycling aluminium scrap into new metal products. Instead, it recovers aluminium-based and iron-based chemicals used as coagulants in water and wastewater treatment.

These chemicals help remove suspended particles and other contaminants from water. Recovering them after use could allow water utilities and industrial operators to reuse the materials in treatment processes, reducing the need to purchase fresh chemicals made from virgin raw materials.

Metal Morph said initial testing demonstrated that its technology could recover up to 90 per cent of spent aluminium- and iron-based treatment chemicals for reuse. The company also reported potential reductions of up to 89 per cent in associated carbon dioxide emissions and 26 per cent in operating expenditure.

Metal Morph had reportedly completed more than 50 live tests across three drinking-water treatment plants. Those tests reportedly achieved recovery of up to 90 per cent of spent treatment chemicals at 95 per cent purity, alongside a 26 per cent reduction in coagulation-related operating costs and an 89 per cent reduction in emissions linked to coagulant procurement.

The results remain early-stage validation rather than proof of full commercial deployment across the water industry. Wider implementation will depend on consistent material quality, plant integration, regulatory approval and the economics of recovering and reusing the chemicals.

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Turning treatment plants into resource hubs

Metal Morph noted that its technology could help water utilities reduce operating costs while improving supply-chain resilience. Aluminium, iron and treatment chemicals are currently linked to global raw-material and manufacturing networks that can be exposed to energy costs, transport disruptions and geopolitical instability.

Moreover, the company believes that its technology could help reduce exposure to supply-chain risks associated with disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz. It is exploring whether the same approach could eventually recover standalone metals from industrial wastewater and mining tailings.

Moletsane Mophethe, founder of Metal Morph, stated, “Growing up in a place where access to clean water was uncertain instilled within me an appreciation of how fragile access to essential resources can be.”

He added, “With Metal Morph, I want to help change that reality. Water infrastructure is one of the most overlooked industrial supply chains in the world. By harnessing them correctly, we are fundamentally reshaping the supply of essential chemicals to reduce the cost of water production.”

The company has secured partnerships with six UK water utilities, which it said collectively represent 56 per cent of the UK water market.

Ofwat, the UK water-services regulator, has also awarded Metal Morph GBP 100,000 (USD 134,900) in grant funding. A further GBP 450,000 (USD 606,800) could become available over the coming months if the company meets specified milestones.

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European expansion planned

Metal Morph said it had held initial discussions over potential future partnerships with innovation lab Accelerate Estonia and Belgian water utility Aquafin. The company said Aquafin controls 60 per cent of household wastewater treatment in Belgium, although the source material refers to Belgium as a “Baltic country”; Belgium is in Western Europe.

The new funding is expected to support further testing, industrial validation and the company’s planned expansion across Europe.

Cam Ross, CEO at Green Angel Ventures, mentioned, “The company's differentiated process enables the recovery of essential materials at high purity, with the potential to deliver meaningful commercial and environmental benefits across the water sector and beyond.”

Josh Armistead-Wood, an investor at Sustainable Ventures, said, “Deployed successfully, the team will transform water and wastewater treatment processes into active resource recovery facilities, creating a brilliant circular economy in the process.”

“It's an urgently needed solution to an increasingly complex problem," he stated.

For the recycled aluminium sector, Metal Morph’s technology represents a different form of material circularity from conventional scrap recycling. Rather than recovering aluminium for remelting, it seeks to keep aluminium-based treatment chemicals in use for longer, reduce waste from water-treatment plants and lower demand for newly manufactured chemicals.

The next test will be whether the process can move from promising pilot results to reliable, cost-effective operation across larger municipal and industrial facilities.

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