As droughts intensify and regulations tighten, companies are discovering that access to clean, reusable water directly affects their costs, capacity, and growth potential. Amsterdam-based PureTerra Ventures is stepping up to finance technologies that tackle the world’s water crisis at its industrial core.
The firm has just launched its second WaterTech fund, aiming to raise €150 million to invest in startups developing advanced water treatment, reuse, and resource recovery solutions. Invest-NL, the Dutch national development institution, has committed €10 million as a cornerstone investor.
Making industrial water systems cleaner, more efficient, and circular
PureTerra Ventures, founded in 2017 by Job van Schelven, Gijsbert De Bruin, Alexander Crowell, and Nic Pannekeet, was founded on the shared conviction that global water challenges require commercial solutions. Since its creation, PureTerra has positioned itself as one of Europe’s few specialised VCs fully dedicated to the WaterTech space, blending climate impact with practical industrial results.
PureTerra invests in companies that use hardware and AI software to improve water reuse, monitoring, and recovery of valuable minerals such as lithium and phosphorus. Its focus is on solutions that scale quickly and integrate easily into existing industrial setups, from manufacturing plants to semiconductor facilities.
What sets the firm apart is its hands-on model. Beyond capital, it connects portfolio companies to a global network of utilities, corporates, and regulators, including key channels in China’s water sector.
Fund I, launched in 2017, closed at €73 million and backed 14 companies. The results strengthened PureTerra’s reputation among European climate-tech and impact investors.
What’s next?
With Fund II, PureTerra will build on the same strategy but on a much larger scale. The priority is to expand its portfolio across sectors most reliant on water and to support these industries in transitioning to water reuse and circularity.
