Orianna Bretschger
CEO & Co-Founder at Aquacycl
San Diego, CA
Founder-CEO of the most-differentiated industrial-wastewater technology. Credible disruptor in a slow-moving category.
Background
CEO and Co-Founder of Aquacycl (founded 2016). Developed the BioElectrochemical Treatment Technology (BETT®) at the J. Craig Venter Institute. Aquacycl commercializes modular plug-and-play industrial wastewater treatment using microbial fuel cells. 10x faster pollutant removal vs. conventional treatment, 50%+ reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, low or net-zero energy operation. Cartier Women's Initiative Fellow.
Notable deals
- 2024
- 2024
Call-prep brief
Background
Aquacycl's microbial-fuel-cell approach to industrial wastewater is a genuine technical novelty. Not an incremental improvement on activated sludge. Customer wins are concentrated in beverage / food-and-beverage manufacturing, where conventional treatment is expensive and energy-intensive.
What she cares about
- Modular deployment economics. Aquacycl is sold as a unit, not a project.
- Carbon-credit and ESG monetization of treatment-avoided emissions.
- Industrial customer scale-up curve. Pilots → site-wide → multi-site.
Sensitivities
- Earlier-stage company; founder-CEO will be evaluating investor partners carefully.
Questions to ask
- Which industrial verticals have the highest adoption-pull for modular wastewater?
- How does Aquacycl think about Series C / growth-equity financing vs. strategic partnership?
- What's the right reference comp: cambrian Innovation, Gradiant, or something different?
Outreach draft
Linked companies
Sources
- Name + firmPrimaryaquacycl.com/blog/the-aquacycl-story
- Name + firmOthercartierwomensinitiative.com/fellow/orianna-bretschger
- Page titleOtherqatium.com/blog/distilled-conversation-with-orianna-bretschger