By Matthew Hersh
A New Jersey-based startup with Princeton roots and an eye on removing microplastics from public water received a funding jolt this month that could eventually result in removing microplastics from water at scale.
PolyGone Systems, founded by Princeton University graduates Yidian Liu and Nathaniel Banks, and their patented filtration media, was a recent grant recipient of the New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund (NJIEF). PolyGone has launched the world’s first industrial microplastic treatment pilot, which is set to capture over 580 million microplastics annually.
Through an application submitted by FYRFLY Venture Partners, PolyGone received an NJIEF investment of $1.25 million.
The New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund is a public-private partnership that falls under the purview of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), where the state partners with private sector institutional venture capital firms on program co-investments into priced equity financing rounds of innovative high-growth New Jersey-based businesses.
To date, 28 venture capital firms from around the world collectively managing over $6.5B in assets are partnered with the NJIEF.
Calling the grant “transformational for our company,” Liu said the most difficult part of operating a cleantech startup developing hardware was raising early-stage capital. “It was uniquely difficult, but the Evergreen Fund served as a powerful catalyst, motivating investor commitments and enabling us to close our full seed round within just six months.”
PolyGone has also secured $1.9 million through a National Sea Grant, and $370,000 in funding through the New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation, and Technology, with funds coming from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
The investment will allow PolyGone to scale up production of and further develop its patented Poly Pod, a pre-assembled filtration unit designed to fit within standard shipping container dimensions, allowing for easier shipping and one-day installation.
The concern over microplastics is due to their suspected overall prevalence and their ability to accumulate and persist in the environment, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. They are generally described as tiny particles less than five millimeters in diameter composed of polymers and various chemical additives that were either originally part of the plastic product or were adsorbed from the surrounding environment.
Microplastics enter the environment through a variety of point and non-point sources. Point sources include direct discharges from industrial processes and wastewater treatment plants, where microplastics can enter aquatic systems due to the potential ineffectiveness of current filtration systems to remove these tiny particles.
“PolyGone Systems is tackling one of the most urgent environmental challenges of our time—removing microplastics from water at scale” said Julie Maples, founding partner at FYRFLY Venture Partners. “FYRFLY invests in teams building transformational technologies with enduring value, and we’re proud to partner with NJEDA to help PolyGone grow in New Jersey, a state that’s fast becoming a national hub for climate innovation and advanced manufacturing.”
The NJIEF is one part of the state’s investment in removing microplastics from waterways. Last month, Gov. Phil Murphy joined governors from Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Connecticut to sign a petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requesting nationwide monitoring of drinking water supplies for microplastics, with the goal of better understanding the occurrence of contamination in drinking water supplies.
“Pollution from microplastics is widespread across the nation and the globe, and our understanding of potential public health consequences is rapidly expanding, especially for children,” said New Jersey Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette. “The collection of monitoring data for microplastics from the nation’s drinking water supplies is a critical first step in developing strategies and standards that will better protect the health of all Americans.”
Liu said this investment, along with other public-sector-led efforts, showcases the state’s commitment to removing microplastics from where they are concentrated. “Their involvement is a testament to New Jersey’s commitment to advancing cleantech innovation and supporting startups addressing urgent environmental challenges,” she said.
The NJIEF focuses on the state’s innovation ecosystem, with areas that include life sciences, vertical AI, clean energy, healthcare technology, and financial technology. For more information, visit
njeda.gov/evergreen.