The Climate Cycle

Winning The Water Pollution Arms Race with Xatoms


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Since 2015, over 200 new contaminants have entered our water systems. Traditional purification technology wasn't built to keep up.

Diana Virgovicova is the founder and CEO of Xatoms, a Canadian company using AI and quantum chemistry to custom-design water purification materials.

Instead of running months of physical lab experiments, Xatoms models molecular behaviour computationally - predicting how atoms interact to design photocatalysts tailored to specific contaminants. The result is a growing library of materials that slot into existing water infrastructure without rebuilding it, with early traction in mining, agriculture, and textiles.

Diana started this research at 14, won an award from the Swedish Royal Family at 17 for discovering her first material, and recently presented alongside Fortune 500 CEOs at Davos.

What we cover:

  • Why investors overlook water - and why that's starting to change
  • How AI and quantum chemistry accelerate materials discovery
  • The case for industrial water purification over non-profit and community models
  • What Diana learned speaking to Fortune 500 CEOs at Davos
  • How Xatoms is commercializing across mining, agriculture, and textiles
  • Building credibility as a first-time founder through media and social visibility

More:

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The Climate CycleBy Climate Tech Canada