First published in AIM Investor: the Water sector on AIM: Cleantech magazine, Volume 6 Issue 6 - December 2012
US-based water treatment business MyCelx Technologies Corporation joined AIM in 2011. The main focus of MyCelx, which supplies equipment for cleaning up industrial water, is the oil and gas sector. The company’s equipment is unique in that it uses a replaceable filter incorporating MyCelx’s own polymer technology.
The original concept of the company goes back to the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989, when one of MyCelx’s co-founders started work on the polymer used in the filter. MyCelx claims that the filter is able to remove free, emulsified and dissolved hydrocarbons upon contact and leave water with hydrocarbon levels of no more than 0-10 parts per million. The US Environmental Protection Agency has set an average monthly overboard discharge limit in the Gulf of Mexico of 29 parts per million.The company’s equipment, which is smaller and lighter than that of its rivals, has been sold directly or via distributors to BP and Chevron.
MyCelx obtained a patent for its polymer in 2011, which lasts until 2019, with more sector specific patents lasting up until 2015.
Water Sector Stock Performances 2012
| Company | Mkt Cap (£m) | Share Price end Dec 2011 | Share Price (12 Dec 2012) | % change 2012 |
| Amiad | 66.78 | 225 | 397.5 | 76.7 |
| Modern Water | 33.2 | 49 | 56.5 | 15.3 |
| MyCelx Technologies | 32.95 | 240 | 255 | 6.3 |
| Hydro International | 17.6 | 129 | 125 | -3.1 |
| Water Intelligence | 3.03 | 34 | 31.5 | -7.4 |
| Waterlogic | 122.3 | 173 | 157.5 | -9.0 |
| Wasabi Energy Ltd | 36.85 | 1.6 | 1.225 | -23.4 |
| HaloSource Inc | 57.8 | 56 | 37 | -33.9 |
| Watermark Global | 1531.37 | 0.23 | 0.145 | -37.0 |
| Origo Partners | 47.75 | 35 | 13.375 | -61.8 |
| Nature Group | 17.4 | 61.25 | 21 | -65.7 |
