Klearia puts labs on a chip at the service of water and cosmetics manufacturers

Author: Gaëlle Cloarec

Little known, labs on a chip are nevertheless part of our daily lives. Pregnancy tests, blood glucose level measurements, Covid screenings... on these few square centimeters, anyone can perform a chemical or biological analysis, anywhere, anytime. From this mainly medical use, the young Klearia shoot, born in 2012 on the Saclay plateau in Ile-de-France, has moved away from it to focus on industrial applications with routine analytical needs. From miniature monitoring, in short, to a wide range of possibilities.

A pilot with Suez

It must be said that the deeptech now based in Nice has arguments to convince to the point of having been the winner, in 2022, of the very selective European EIC Accelerator program. This "Rolls Royce" support, enhanced by an envelope of 2 million euros in its case, is interested in future European champions whose technologies are preparing to disrupt their market. In this case, that of water treatment for which it will carry out a first pilot. "This support has allowed us from a technological point of view to broaden the range of pollutants analyzed, to reduce the cost and to shorten the analysis time, explains Clément Nanteuil, founding director of Klearia. From a commercial point of view, it has opened a number of doors for us." Including those of the Suez group.

It is indeed one of the water giant's treatment plants that will host the company's first pilot, which is scheduled to come into service in 2025. This aims to monitor the quality of incoming water, more particularly metal pollution flows. "This involves analyzing several metal pollutants in around twenty minutes, whereas the plant generally takes a week to receive the results. The objective is to improve the management of incoming flows, to facilitate their compliance and to reduce treatment costs by providing the right information very quickly," explains the director. Who continues: "Other pilots are currently being discussed, on subjects other than treatment, but always focused on water." Read alsoSuez wants to make its Landemont plant a showcase for plastic recycling.

Equipment manufacturer for the cosmetics industry

Water is a difficult market to penetrate, with significant barriers to entry that lengthen lead times and require a strike force that Klearia, despite its deeptech, does not necessarily have. Especially when the chosen strategy consists of avoiding diluting its capital through fundraising as much as possible. "I prefer to generate traction rather than finance it through risk," insists the manager, a fan of "more moderate but controlled growth."

Hence his foray into the perfume and cosmetics market, "smaller but more responsive and demanding innovations," with a patented solution no longer oriented towards analytics but towards the manufacture of perfumes and creams. "We are still on the principle of miniature laboratories. These take the form of very small reactors, the thickness of a hair, whose particular design and the resulting flows make it possible to implement creams with the right textures or alcohol-free perfumes that remain stable in a different way. Physics here makes it possible to improve the chemistry." The advantages of this innovative process are numerous and primarily concern the health and environmental impact of the raw materials used. "The formulas are more minimalist and can do without controversial elements," notes Clément Nanteuil, whose imminent signing with a manufacturer in the sector opens up new perspectives. "We are positioning ourselves as an equipment manufacturer in this market where we are clearly entering a scale-up phase."

REUT in sight

As a result, the Côte d'Azur deeptech company plans to reach a turnover of one million euros by the end of the 2025 financial year, compared to 300,000 euros achieved - this is its objective - in 2024. It also plans to increase its workforce, going from 8 to around twenty employees over the same period. "The traction is clearly on the cosmetics side, the first orders have been taken, this is the sector that will be predominant in the coming months and years."

However, Clément Nanteuil is keeping the water market in his sights, convinced of its significant future, particularly on the subject of the reuse of wastewater. "The question of water scarcity is increasingly being raised, highlighting its reuse, the quality of which must be ensured before being reinjected into the processes. Industrialists are already questioning the management of this resource, well aware of the major challenge it represents for their business.