Cleveland Water Alliance launches initiative to fund and promote innovative water technology

[ad_1]

The Cleveland Water Alliance announced the launch of the Freshwater Innovation Fund in an effort to promote new water technologies in the city.

The fund was created to address water stress in the region, which can include droughts caused by climate change, aging infrastructure and water contaminants, according to the press release.

“Water stress is here. Water stress is accelerating,” said Bryan Stubbs, president and executive director of the Cleveland Water Alliance. “So, the Cleveland Water Alliance, on the one hand, we really take a look at how we can accelerate new technologies in the water market and what is missing to accelerate those new technologies.

Stubbs manages the fund with Joseph Jankowski, Chief Innovation Officer of Case Western Reserve University, and Blake Oatey, Vice President, International Development, of the Oatey Company. The Alliance is currently raising funds for the initiative, Stubbs said, and intends to raise $5 million for its first round of funding.

At the Cleveland Water Alliance, we work to identify, address and accelerate technology solutions to water challenges – and now we’re launching the Freshwater Innovation Fund – to help deliver accelerated impact on our biggest global water challenges. https://t.co/rcCY0oecft pic.twitter.com/zZ4lvpdzvh

— Cleveland Water Alliance (@CLEH2OAlliance) February 14, 2023

“These are initial investments that we will invest between $250,000 and $500,000 in these early-stage innovations,” Stubbs said. “Our expectations are to roll out those funds fairly quickly and we will transition to a $10 million fund in a similar fashion. And then from there, it scales up to a $25 million fund.

Funds are available to companies around the world as long as their projects are water-centric and innovative, Stubbs said.

“It doesn’t have to be a mechanical innovation, it doesn’t have to be a digital innovation, it can even be a financial innovation,” he said. ‘Every time we take this new approach to solving problems, and there are more and more problems related to water stress, that’s when we get into innovative technologies.’

The plans should be applied to Lake Erie first before being implemented elsewhere, Stubbs said.

“Lake Erie is under stress and we need to protect it, and often our innovations are designed to apply directly to the challenges we have here locally,” he said. “However, we believe that by solving our local problem, we can then export those solutions globally.”

Two years ago, the Clean Water Alliance launched water accelerator testbeds on Lake Erie that allow water technology companies to test their products under real-world conditions before they hit the market, Stubbs said. But not all funded projects have to undergo the probationary period.

“If someone has that technology, they can come in and try it – we’d have an interest in helping them try it,” he said. “And alternatively, from the fund’s perspective, something may have already been experimented with in some other way, shape or form, and we may still want to invest in that company.”

A large portion of the funding will allow the companies to hire more employees, who will continue to bring about 300 new fair-trade jobs to the region each year, while establishing Cleveland as a hub for innovative water technology.

“These jobs pay very well, well above average, and require everything from a high school diploma to a PhD,” Stubbs said. “It’s something that I’m personally excited about and that we’re really adding jobs, and then ultimately, we’re adding inclusive wealth in our region.”

Interested companies can apply online via the innovator recruitment form or can contact the Clean Water Alliance by email or phone.

[ad_2]