Midlands Mindforge has led a £600,000 investment round in Pazul Ltd, a spin-out company from Cranfield University developing real-time monitoring solutions to tackle aquatic pollution.
The £600,000 round includes a £300,000 commitment from Midlands Mindforge, matched by investment from a group of high-net-worth individuals. The investment will support the continued development and commercialisation of Pazul’s technology, which is designed to provide faster, more accurate water quality data for decision-makers across the water sector.
Building on research from Cranfield University’s Water Science Institute, Pazul’s mission is to develop real-time monitoring solutions that drive action, solving complex aquatic pollution problems. Current methods for acquiring pollution data in water are slow, costly and infrequent, making dynamic decision-making very difficult.
A range of products deploying real-time phosphate sensing
Pazul builds two key products that have as a foundation a unique sensor that measures phosphate in real time. Currently, phosphate measurement is based on wet chemistry methods developed in the 1960s. These are still widely used in laboratory-based analysis, requiring significant staff time and transport, with data typically available one to three days after sampling. This makes rapid decision-making difficult, particularly as water quality can change quickly.
Pazul’s solution is an electrochemical sensor platform based on molecularly imprinted polymers that delivers rapid, low-maintenance measurements without wet chemistry reagents or sample preparation. In practice, this means phosphate concentrations can be measured within just a few minutes.
Continuous phosphate intelligence can bring significant benefits to aquatic systems and the wider water sector. To realise these benefits, Pazul has developed two main products:
- An automated phosphate iron dosing system for wastewater treatment, using real-time phosphate sensing and flow data to optimise coagulant dosing and reduce chemical use.
- Pazul RiverIntel, a real-time river water quality data service that combines continuous sensing, connected data and analytics to support monitoring, decision-making, AI tools and digital twins.
The benefits include reductions in chemical use, sludge production, emissions and operational costs while maintaining stable treatment performance and protecting receiving waters. Alongside the hardware, Pazul is building data tools for natural and engineered systems that transform continuous monitoring of multiple pollutants into actionable insights.
Ana Soares, Professor of Biotechnology Engineering at Cranfield University and co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Pazul, said: “We’re extremely proud to have received this investment. It will help us further develop our technology and strengthen our team, but it also shows confidence in the work that we’re doing and an understanding of our goals.
“Not only will this technology help us to better understand phosphate in natural and engineered systems, but it will enable utilities to make significant savings on chemical costs without compromising efficiency and industry make faster, better-informed decisions based on real-time information.”
Lisa Smith, CEO of Midlands Mindforge, said: “Pazul combines outstanding science, strong commercial potential and a clear route to real-world impact. The company is addressing a critical challenge for the water sector with an innovative technology that can generate actionable insights in real time, helping organisations make better decisions while reducing costs and protecting the environment. This is exactly the type of high-potential, research-driven business that Midlands Mindforge was created to back, and we’re excited to support the team as they scale.”
