Magic Water: Heals Water Scarcity
A Conversation Between Lawrence Graev, Founding Partner, SEAS (Societe De L’eau Aérienne Suisse) and Christopher P. Skroupa, Skytop Editor-in-Chief, Skytop / November 9th, 2021
Larry Graev has, since December 2000, held the position of Chairman and CEO of The GlenRock Group, LLC, a firm that invests in private equity opportunities and provides management assistance to the leadership and boards of a variety of businesses. Between September 2007 and April 2020, Larry also held the position of President and Chief Compliance Officer of GlenRock Capital Advisers, LLC, a registered investment adviser.
Larry sat on the Board of Directors of The Travelers Companies, Inc. from 2002 through 2013 and served as Chairman of its Compensation Committee, sat on the Board of Managers of Focus Financial Partners, LLC from 2012 through 2017 and served as Chairman of its Compensation Committee, served as Chairman of the Board and was a principal investor in Pangea3, LLC from 2006 through 2010, and is a Co-Founder and Managing Director and sits on the Board of Managers of ATW Resources, LLC, and its wholly-owned Swiss subsidiary, Societe De L’Eau Aerienne Suisse, S.A. (“SEAS”) (the leader in air to water generation technology with headquarters in Lugano, Switzerland).
Larry has been an Adjunct Professor of Venture Capital Law from 2007 through the present time, first at George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. and currently at Fordham Law School in New York City. In addition, in 2018-2019, Larry was also an Adjunct Professor of Venture Capital Law at Cornell University.
Larry began his career with the international law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He subsequently co-founded the law firm O’Sullivan Graev & Karabell, LLP. Larry served as Chairman and CEO of this firm for more than 25 years.
Larry has been an early investor in, and/or has sat on the Board of, the following companies—Lotus Development Corporation (application software), Blyth Industries, Inc. (candles), CoastAmerica Corporation (hardware distribution), Ab Initio Software Corporation (enterprise software), FoxMeyer Corporation (drug and health products distribution) and International Surface Preparation Corporation (industrial machinery operating under the Wheelabrator brand), among others.
Larry earned his B.S. from Cornell University and his J.D. from George Washington University Law School.
Christopher P. Skroupa: Water from air. It sounds simplistic, but I know there’s more to it. Tell us about this.
Lawrence Graev: As the water scarcity around the globe becomes more urgent at an accelerated pace, it is clear that there is a need to develop alternative sources of clean water to sustain life and to address industrial and agricultural applications. The moisture in ambient air is almost unlimited and finding a way to tap into that resource is a very compelling alternative to existing sources of water.
When you look at the alternative sources of water–desalinization and other “purification” techniques, transporting water in large tanker trucks and ships, etc.—you quickly learn that each has its own series of problems and issues. For instance, in the case of desalinization, the brine extracted from seawater presents significant environmental issues, the desalinated water does not taste good due to the addition of chemicals, and there are claims that desalinated water presents health issues. In those countries that have invested heavily in desalinization, most people who can afford to buy bottled water do so rather than drink the desalinated water.
A big expense associated with providing clean water is distribution—building and maintaining piping networks and using trucks and ships to deliver water. Throughout the world, water distribution infrastructure is falling apart and water lost in the process can amount to up to 75% of the water moving through the system.
Water produced by SEAS Systems does not have environmental issues. The water is of the highest quality and can be made to taste like the best waters on the market. In addition, because we follow a distributive business model, SEAS Systems do not have to deal with the challenges of distribution encountered by other water alternatives—SEAS Systems produce the highest quality water when and where it is needed.
Christopher P. Skroupa: What kinds of different water can your systems produce?
Lawrence Graev: SEAS Systems produce the finest drinking water that can simulate the taste and chemical composition of any brand of water, and it can be oxygenated and hydrogenated. We can increase the PH factor and we can carbonate it. In addition, because SEAS Systems produce the highest quality distilled water, it has multiple industrial, medical and agricultural applications.
Christopher P. Skroupa: What applications/industries do your systems address?
Lawrence Graev: These are the applications/industries we regularly address:
Food and beverage
Solar farms
Residential and commercial buildings
Hotels and resorts
Remote worksites
Greenhouses and vertical farming
Medical and pharmaceutical
Christopher P. Skroupa: Is it expensive when compared to other water sources or solutions?
Lawrence Graev: Our basic business model and strategy identifies those potential customers where SEAS can present a solution with compelling financial returns for the customer, either through energy savings or in comparison to the cost of the water they regularly purchase. We do not try to compete with quality tap water, especially if it is subsidized by a governmental agency. See examples below.
Christopher P. Skroupa: Can you share examples of how this water helped businesses overcome a huge resource scarcity hurdle?
Lawrence Graev: Example 1—Hotel in Mexico and workers village in the U.A.E.—SEAS Systems delivered high quality water to the kitchens of the customers for food preparation, drinking water and ice cubes, while at the same time delivering HVAC to the customers which reduced their energy consumption for making hot water and air conditioning. At the hotel the energy savings amounted to 70%, which meant that the customer was getting water for a negative cost.
Example 2-–Solar farm in Peru, where the customer was paying for low quality water to be transported across the desert in tanker trucks for use in cleaning solar panels. SEAS Systems delivered high quality distilled water at the site—no transportation—for 40% of the cost of tanker water. In addition, since the tanker water was of such poor quality, the operator had to use detergents for the solar panel cleaning, an additional expense for the customer with environmental issues. If a solar operator can increase efficiency of the solar field by even a small percentage by using a SEAS System and solution, the payback and IRR are compelling.