Collaboration Spotlight: Membrion and Lam Research

AI-driven growth in advanced packaging has increased the use of Lam Research’s SABER® electrodeposition tools , and at Lam's Tualatin, Oregon R&D campus that meant more volume copper wastewater. The stream is hard to treat: copper concentrations reach 60 g/L, pH runs between 0 and 2, and composition swings by ±60% depending on the tool recipe. The facility had been trucking the waste offsite and had less than 60 square feet for new treatment equipment. Membrion, a Pangaea portfolio company in which Lam Capital is a co-investor, installed its Electro-Ceramic Desalination (ECD) system in that space under a Water-as-a-Service model.

The deployment has delivered 35% lower cost per gallon, a 3x increase in daily treatment volume capacity and 100% in-spec treatment. Effluent copper averaged 42 ppm, well under the site's 100 ppm limit. Membrion kept tuning the system while it ran. Control logic updates and drop-in module upgrades, which needed no added capital investment from Lam Research, increased the average copper removal rate by 200%, treated water recovery by 23%, and daily treatment capacity threefold. Lam has since added ECD to its engineering guidance as a recommended solution for this wastewater stream.

Industrial sites like Tualatin give hard tech startups working infrastructure, live operating data, and engineering teams who can deploy a newer process against a pressing problem. Across our portfolio, we look for these opportunities to connect founders with corporate partners. 

The full case study covers the process design, batch performance data, and operational learnings. Download the case study on Membrion's site.