Wastewater treatment business Calix haas launched an $8 million IPO to fund technologies that fight sewer stink and stop the spread of nasty bacteria.

Sydney-based Calix, which was founded in 2005, has patented a technology called Calix Flash Calcination. The process involves grinding down minerals and flash-heating them at up to 800 degrees, then snap freezing the gases that emerge.

The business has developed a range of products from this process, including ACTI-Mag, an inorganic compound that can be added to sewers and water treatment facilities to strip odour and control hydrogen sulphide gas in sewer systems.

The “Calix Flash Calination” process creates products similar to nano-materials used in a range of applications in air and water treatment, as well as food production and infrastructure protection.

The company has so far sold “ACTI-Mag” to Sydney Water, Yarra Valley Water, Queensland Urban Utilities and TasWater.

Here’s a video of the Calix technology:

The company is also in the aquaculture game, with solutions to improve pond quality in prawn farms.

There has been talk of a Calix IPO for some time, with reports in 2017 suggesting this would be a $20 million listing. 

The offer documents lodged with ASIC this week are to raise $8 million through the issuing of 15.1 million shares.

The total number of shares on issue at completion of the raise will be 122.7 million bringing the company to a market cap of $65 million. There are 107 million existing shareholders in the business.

Proceeds from the offer will go towards “enhancing the efficiency of existing production facilities” and to continue research and development activities, as well as providing working capital.

According to the offer document, Calix made $3.2 million in core revenue in FY17, with operating expenses totalling $8.4 million.

The offer is set to open on July 5.