Roca Water, Inc.

ROCA'S Phase I Usda Nifa Sbir Project Aims to Develop a Targeted Salinity Reduction System That Addresses a Critical Problem in Agriculture: the Scarcity of High-quality Irrigation Water Caused by the Compounding Effects of Climate Change, Increasing Groundwater Salinity, and Stricter Water Management Policies. Existing Desalination Solutions, Like Reverse Osmosis (ro), Are Not Well-suited for Agriculture Because of High Energy Consumption, Membrane Fouling, and the Production of Brine Waste That Is Expensive to Dispose of. Roca Has Developed a Membrane-free Electrochemical Technology Specifically Designed to Reduce the Salinity of Complex Water Sources Without the Production of Brine Waste; the By-product of ROCA'S Technology Is Caustic Soda, a Common Industrial Chemical. the Primary Objectives of the Proposed Project Include Optimizing the SYSTEM'S Performance in Real Water, Identifying the Impact of Various Inorganic Ions and Organic Matter, and Constructing a Prototype Cell Capable of Treating 1 L of Water. the Proposed Project Will Be Used to Evaluate the SYSTEM'S Ability to Operate With Minimal Fouling and Degradation and Its Ability to Produce Industrial-grade Caustic Soda. the Anticipated Results Include a Fully Operational Prototype Cell With a Projected Water Treatment Cost of $450 Per Acre-foot, Well Below the Price of Ro and the Target Water Price for High-value Crops. the Commercial Potential for This Technology Is Substantial, With Applications Not Only in CALIFORNIA'S Agricultural Sector But Also in Other Water-scarce Regions, Potentially Generating Significant Revenue as Technology Adoption Expands. ROCA'SPHASE I Project Provides a Scalable Foundation for Future Commercialization and Broader Market Applications in Sustainable Agriculture.