A start-up company with connections to Fresno State just received heavy investment to aid in its work of increasing access to fresh water at a lower cost. Valley Ventures, an accelerator program of the Water, Energy, and Technology Center (WET Center) at Fresno State, helped raise $6 million in new funding for Membrion Inc., a Seattle company that creates membranes out of silica gel materials to allow for a higher-performing desalination process that can purify pharmaceuticals, wastewater and other types of liquids. With the new funding, Membrion will be moving its headquarters to Interbay, Washington.