Why We Are Different
From inland vineyards to rural industry, we deliver electric desalination that's simple, scalable, and powerful. Built for the overlooked.
Access the Water Beneath Us
Brackish water isn't just coastal – it's underground and in wastewater. We make it usable.
Built for the Overlooked
Small towns, inland farms, and underserved businesses – ignored by big desal, served by us.
Simple, Electric, and Tough
No membranes or pressure pumps. Just robust electric parts – user-serviceable and field-ready.
Fits Your Budget—and Your Barn
Priced like common ag and industrial tools – not $100K+. Compact enough to install anywhere.
Waste That Pays Off
We will turn salty waste into industrial inputs – cutting costs and adding value to every gallon.
A Real Product
Built for your needs with your input.
Master Plan
Tap inland brackish water to reduce freshwater demand, serving overlooked industries, small business and communities.
Transform salty waste into valuable industrial materials, cutting costs and improving water treatment economics.
Deploy desalination pipelines that clean seawater en route, replenishing aquifers and ending water scarcity.
Proof of Progress
Milestones we hit in Q1 on the way to ending water scarcity.
Our Roadmap
- 🧪
Foundation • 2024
- Incorporated, opened our first lab & secured key advisors
- Lifted cell performance from 5 → 75 mg/cycle (15×) with 3-D-printed Gen-1 geometry
- Validated inland-brackish opportunity – Master Plan Step 1
- ⚡️
Proof • H1 2025
- Achieved 3.7× jump in salt removal and targeting 450 mg/cycle benchmark
- Expanded core team (Matt ME, Eddie CFO) + two summer interns
- Built a fully-automated multi-cycle rig, 4× throughput
- Identified vineyard wastewater as a promising market opportunity
- Drafting first patent family covering cell design & retention mechanics
- 🚀
Pilot • H2 2025
- Deploy 3 pilot units in Central Valley & Central Coast wineries for 24/7 life-cycle testing
- Freeze Product Spec v1.0 after hitting reliability & efficiency gates
- Close Friends-&-Family round to fund manufacturing ramp
- 📈
Product & Scale • 2026
- Ship vineyard unit (120 V, garden-hose I/O) in Q1; open order book
- Enter high-salinity brine & data-centre loops – progressing Master Plan Step 2
- Stand-up supply chain & service; target 100+ units delivered
Our Team
Derek Bednarski
Founder & CEO
Derek Bednarski, Founder and CEO, leads Waterline's product strategy and oversees materials and control systems. He developed our initial prototypes, drove the 2X advancement in electrode materials, and engineered our automated rig, boosting testing throughput by 4X. Previously at Tesla, Derek leveraged operational expertise and applied machine learning to automate diagnostics and scheduling, saving over 300,000 service hours quarterly. He co-invented a patent-pending automation system, significantly improving customer experience and operational efficiency. Derek thrives on first-principles innovation and solving tough problems.
Eddie Brucculeri
Co-Founder & CFO
Eddie Brucculeri joined Waterline as Co-Founder and CFO in April 2025. At P97 Networks, where he served as Head of Finance, Eddie helped scale revenue five-fold, secured a $40 million venture-debt facility and a $40 million Series C round, and played a key role in the company's acquisition by PDI Technologies. His background in investment banking at Deutsche Bank and hedge fund analysis at Aetos Alternatives brings rigorous financial discipline and strategic clarity to Waterline. Eddie oversees our finance, sales, and business development strategies, helping steer the company's growth into our upcoming funding rounds and beyond.
Matthew Gao
Mechanical Engineering Lead
Matthew Gao joined Waterline in January 2025 as our Mechanical Engineering Lead. Matt brings deep experience in designing for manufacturing at scale from his work at Tesla (Seating & Safety Systems) and Koniku – a biotech startup where he built precision systems for bio-mechanical sensing devices. His hands-on role at Tesla, balancing high-volume production needs with complex mechanical constraints, makes him perfectly suited to tackle Waterline's critical electrode retention challenges. Matt's innovative designs are already responsible for our recent 3.7X cell performance improvement, and he's currently leading construction of our pilot unit.