Paulina Sarnikowski is Co-Founder and Lab Manager at Ilion Water Technologies, a deeptech startup revolutionizing water desalination through nanofluidic technology. She brings expertise in biotechnology and materials science to advance sustainable water treatment solutions.

Paulina studied biotechnology at Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers and holds a doctorate in physico-chemistry of materials. She contributed to groundbreaking research in nanofluidic systems at Ecole Normale Superieure's Physics Laboratory.

Paulina co-authored a Nature Materials publication on resonant osmotic diodes for voltage-induced water filtration, demonstrating the scientific foundation of Ilion's technology. She played a key role in developing the VIRO (Voltage Induced Reverse Osmosis) system that uses just a few volts instead of high-pressure pumps.

Ilion Water Technologies has secured over 3 million euros in funding, holds 3 patents, and won multiple awards including the 2024 Pollutec Innovation Challenge and i-Lab competition from BPIFrance. The company is based in Paris and operates from the prestigious Institut Pierre Gilles de Gennes.

Ilion's pressure-free desalination technology reduces installation costs and energy consumption while eliminating the need for traditional high-pressure systems operating at up to 60 bar. The innovation addresses critical water scarcity challenges in arid regions with a more sustainable and economical approach to water purification.