Virridy Secures $10M in Contracts and Capital

Newly Contracted Up To $5M from National Science Foundation and Receives $5M Investment from M.A. Mortenson Companies, Inc.

Boulder, CO, USA – Virridy, a leader in carbon credit project development and technology for global water resilience, has recently secured up to $10 million in new capital to expand its work.
The investment includes a nearly $5 million dollar contract from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and a $3 million equity investment from M.A. Mortenson Companies, Inc. (Mortenson), building on Mortenson’s prior $2 million advance purchase of high-quality carbon credits from Virridy. Together, these investments will significantly advance the development and deployment of innovative, science-based solutions that address the crisis of water insecurity.

This new funding will greatly accelerate Virridy’s global portfolio of carbon-financed water access, irrigation improvement and watershed restoration programs, with partners including the Millennium Water Alliance, Netafim, and the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Virridy is now piloting its patented Lume™ water quality sensor, an advanced solution for detection of fecal coliforms, dissolved organic matter and algae. The Lume is a compact, autonomous, internet-connected sensor that estimate water quality levels using tryptophan-like fluorescence and machine learning. The Lume is presently being used by partners in Denver, Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, Paris, Kenya and Rwanda.

New Funding Details

The NSF award comes through the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) and the Convergence Accelerator Program, where Virridy continues as a 2023 Cohort member now in Phase 2 of the Future Water Systems track. For 75 years, the U.S. National Science Foundation has been at the forefront of research, innovation and education, transforming American lives, powering the U.S. economy, and driving U.S. competitiveness and national security. Launched in 2019, the U.S. National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator builds upon research and discovery to accelerate use-inspired convergence research into practical application. The program funds a cohort of teams to work interactively toward solving grand challenges that positively impact thousands of Americans. Phase 2 marks the shift from ideation and prototyping to creating long-lasting, scalable technologies and solutions. The Future Water Systems track addresses the urgent need to develop real-world solutions to the significant challenges facing freshwater systems in the United States — recognizing the crucial impact freshwater has on future ecosystems, human health and national security.

M.A Mortenson Companies, Inc., has been actively engaged in impact and mission-aligned investments for over two decades. “Virridy’s programs are delivering measurable environmental impacts alongside powerful social and environmental co-benefits,” said Mark Mortenson. “We see this as a high-impact opportunity that aligns with our commitment to investing in resilient infrastructure, sustainable communities, and access to basic services.”

Virridy’s carbon-financed water projects trace their roots to 2007, when CEO Evan Thomas implemented the world’s first UN Clean Development Mechanism and Gold Standard program to generate carbon credits from water treatment. These efforts have since grown into a global portfolio that has directly delivered clean water to more than five million people globally. Today, Virridy combines this history of innovation with digital monitoring technologies, peer-reviewed science, and trusted partnerships to scale climate-resilient water systems around the world.

“This infusion of capital—from both private and public sources—is a vote of confidence in a new model for climate and water resilience,” said Dr. Evan Thomas, CEO of Virridy. “By combining carbon finance, cutting-edge monitoring technology, and grounded partnerships, we’re demonstrating that it’s possible to deliver clean water, improve agricultural productivity, protect ecosystems, and reduce emissions at scale.”

Virridy’s Programs

Across Kenya, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Madagascar, with partners including the Millenium Water Alliance, Helvetas, Asili and LifeStraw, Virridy is deploying carbon-credit-supported drinking water infrastructure expected to serve over four million people by 2030 and generate more than one million carbon credits. These projects deliver clean drinking water through schools and community kiosks—replacing the need for households to boil water over wood or fossil fuels, which contributes to deforestation, indoor air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. In doing so, they reduce the burden on women and children who often collect fuel and care for sick family members, improve school attendance, and lower risks of waterborne disease. These critical services also reduce regional instability and act as a cornerstone for improved public health and thriving communities.

In agriculture, Virridy is partnering with Orbia Netafim—the world’s largest precision irrigation company—as its exclusive global carbon project developer and offtaker. Launching with 1,000 hectares of participating farmland in Turkey in 2025 with a goal to scale into tens of thousands of irrigated hectares, the program supports the adoption of precision irrigation and regenerative agriculture practices that reduce nitrous oxide emissions and increase soil sequestration. In addition to climate benefits, the program helps farmers reduce input costs, improve water efficiency, increase yields, and automate their systems with funding from carbon credit sales—demonstrating a replicable model for improving rural livelihoods while advancing climate-smart agriculture.

In the United States, Virridy’s “watershed carbon” initiative is developing new pathways to connect voluntary carbon markets to Clean Water Act compliance through nature-based solutions such as riparian restoration and improved land management. These efforts not only reduce emissions and energy demand from water treatment systems, but also restore biodiversity, enhance recreational access, and improve public health outcomes for communities across the country.

About Virridy

Virridy specializes in water-focused carbon credit generation, leveraging digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (DMRV) technologies to quantify water and climate benefits. With expertise in carbon finance and water resiliency projects, Virridy drives investments in sustainable water management across the globe. Learn more about Virridy’s programs here.

About TIP

The NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) engages all Americans in accelerating critical and emerging technologies to advance U.S. competitiveness. The directorate partners across sectors to advance three primary focus areas – accelerating technology, fostering innovation and economic growth, and preparing the American workforce for better-quality, higher-wage jobs. For more information about NSF TIP, visit nsf.gov/tip/latest. For more information about the program, visit https://www.nsf.gov/tip/latest.

About Mortenson

M. A. Mortenson Companies Inc. is the parent company of Mortenson Construction, which is a U.S.-based, top-25 developer, builder and engineering services provider serving the commercial, institutional, and energy sectors. Mortenson’s expanding portfolio of integrated services helps its customers move their strategies forward, ensuring their investments result in high-performing assets. The result is a turnkey partner, fully invested in its customers’ success and improving the communities in which they live and work.

Media Contact
Alex Johnson
Chief Strategy Officer
Virridy
[email protected]