“Are water utilities susceptible to innovation? Not many. But they exist. “

Ashdec. Renewable phosphate fertilities
UFBAF. Air Water treatment Attero.
Electronic Waste recycling.
Neosensors. Quality liquid sensors.
Epuramat. Waste water treatment.

Moderator: Helge Daebel

Carlos Campos

• Power and telecom companies know how their customers use their service. Water industry still needs to know how and for what their customers use water.
• Increasing environmental standards means increasing energy demand.
• Waste water treatment process smell is a huge problem, specially for those plants placed in urban environments like Barcelona.
• People is not only sensitive to water quality but also to water quality changes.

Peter Holme

• Water industry is a mix of different industries with different cultures. The big challenge for us is to mix effectively high technology with low technology.
• Increase of water price could be a trigger to stimulate innovation.

Victor D.Scutaru

• During the last 7 years: 200 investments. 16 cleantech. 3 Water.
• Water utilities are usually focused in cost and energetic efficiency solutions.
• Water sector is dominated by public utilities something that makes private founding participation difficult.
• There are opportunities in water sector:  for example, we don’t know how to measure ground water availability; usually we need to detect and eliminate not regular water contaminants; detect and repair leaks in a non invasive way.
• Some oportuinites require long access time that VC are not usually willing to assume.

Extract by Jordi Sotorra and Daniel Martínez