As demands for new solutions to age-old problems in the water sector continue to grow, a start-up incubator has been steadily helping new water technology companies gain market traction.
Although the three-year-old $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides billions of dollars for water, stormwater and wastewater infrastructure in the US, the groups in the water sector say more public and private investment will be needed in the coming years to address the problems. associated with too much or too little water not only in the US, but around the world.
In a report released last month, the Netherlands-based Global Commission on Water Economics said numerous low- and middle-income countries will need to invest more than $500 billion annually over the next decades to get clean and drinkable water for everyone. axis of the sustainable development goals of the United Nations. In addition, it is also necessary to invest in technologies and processes that allow more efficient management of the hydrological cycle, the commission said.
Imagine H2O, a niche business incubator based in San Francisco, has been consistently supporting disruptive technologies in the water sector since 2009. Founded in 2008, the non-profit business accelerator has raised over $1 billion in seed funding for 115 startups. More than 80% of the companies supported by the incubator programs continue to operate, and some have gone on to scale and collaborate with large industrial or municipal water treatment entities.
John Ikeda, head of mission at the Water Environment Federation, describes the incubator as “an important engine for innovation in the water sector”. Ikeda says he has worked with Imagine H2O both at WEF and previously at the World Bank. “For entrepreneurs, access to capital, leads and mentors is invaluable. As the leading accelerator for water entrepreneurs, Imagine H2O plays a key role in our industry’s innovation ecosystem,” Ikeda told ENR in an email.
In a world affected not only by climate change, but by high water demands from data centers, semiconductor manufacturing facilities and other growing areas of the technology sector, clean water supplies will continue to shrink , notes Ikeda. As a result, “there is a growing need from the investment community to fund both water innovation and water infrastructure,” he says.
The 501(c) organization does not take an equity interest in the companies it supports and is supported by a combination of philanthropic and public funding. Temple Fennell, managing partner of Clean Energy Ventures, one of the nonprofit’s donors, says his firm only backs companies and technologies that could scale to market adoption with $30 million or less “We have been looking at companies in the energy/water sector for several years and we see IH2O as the essential source of innovative companies,” he says.
Constantly gaining traction
Seattle company Membrion, which was part of Imagine H2O’s 2021 cohort, has developed electroceramic technologies for industrial wastewater that include self-cleaning, low-fouling membranes. A pilot study conducted in collaboration with Colgate-Palmolive showed that their technology could treat between 85% and 93% of the brine produced from wastewater by reverse osmosis treatment at one of the facilities manufacturing Fortune 500 company. The ability to reuse water could ultimately reduce the new water manufacturer’s reliance on municipal or groundwater supplies, the companies say.
Greg Newbloom, founder and CEO of Membrion, says the pilot demonstrated that “a ubiquitous source of industrial wastewater could be economically treated for reuse and that wastewater circularity is possible.” Membrion is now working with the company to deliver 400 million gallons of reused water to the company’s facilities worldwide through a service contract.
Gross-Wen Technologies (GWT) is another alumni of the 2021 cohort. The company uses algae biofilm during wastewater treatment to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus levels. Founder Martin Gross claims his technology has low operating costs and produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional treatment.
Going through the accelerator program allowed access to a larger pool of water professionals, Gross says. “This has led to new investors for the business and generally an increase in our knowledge of how the industry works,” he told ENR. Its customers include food and beverage producers as well as municipalities.
GWT provides wastewater treatment for a new resource recovery facility in Pasco, Washington, which is nearing 90% construction completion. The facility will allow for the reuse of approximately 1.5 billion gallons of wastewater per year and will produce enough renewable natural gas to supply more than 4,500 homes in the state annually.
Companies in the 2024 accelerator cohort include an underwater desalination technology developer, OceanWell Water, based in Meno Park, Calif.; and WASE, which uses modular electromethanogenic reactor technology to treat wastewater and sludge and generates biogas as a by-product.
WASE is currently treating 17 m3 of wastewater per day and generating over 500 MWh/year of renewable energy for the Hepworth Brewery in West Sussex, England.
More than 400 companies applied to participate this year, says Imagine H2O accelerator program director Nidhi Menon. Finally, ten were selected. “Since we are the main water accelerators, companies only come to us. They see us as a stamp of approval,” he says.
In addition to the main accelerator program, H2O also has a dedicated incubator for companies providing water solutions in Asia.
Successfully expanded
Several of the companies that have gone through the Imagine H2O program are moving on to larger-scale incubator programs. Membrion’s successful pilot with Colgate, for example, was supported by the 100+ Accelerator, which connects sustainability-focused startups with corporate partners including Coca-Cola, Danone and Unilever. OceanWell is also currently participating in the Xprize Foundation’s $120 million Desalination Challenge program.
In August, Imagine H2O launched the Water Innovation Pilot Fund, which will provide grants and repayable loans to make it easier for small startups to scale up and develop pilots. Coca-Cola and Oceankind are among the original financial backers.
