Point of View – by Mia Javier

[cross posted on blog.cleantech.com]

Why do countries fight over water resources? Because as nations manage economic growth, precious water resources become the clear conduit required to supply both energy and food to growing populations.

A recent article published by the New York Times featured the growing tensions between India and Pakistan over water – as if their relationship isn’t strained enough. Pakistan is concerned that the Indian hydroelectric dam currently under construction could divert water that flows from mountain glaciers to Pakistan’s agricultural industry. It is a story of two countries competing over a water source to achieve energy and food security.

The growth of any city or society is founded on human access to water. Without it, growth cannot occur. Should something or someone get in the way of these resources, it is likely to ruffle some feathers.

Consider Los Angeles. At the beginning of the twentieth century, we could point to one event that catalyzed the growth of this now, population of 4 million: the construction of the Los Angeles aqueduct that diverted water from the Owens River Valley approximately 300 miles away. If members of the Owens River Valley ecosystem could wage a war, they surely would have as the growth of LA came at a great environmental cost.

If you care about energy security then you better care about water security. Our research here at the Cleantech Group looks at water technologies that assist efficiency in water distribution and use as well as innovation and market dynamics in water and wastewater treatment aspects of the urban water cycle. Management of water resources is not only critical for governments vis-à-vis other governments but vis-à-vis multinational corporations!

We cannot separate energy and water security. In this way, investments poured into alternative energy technologies should be a lesson to us, not mere fanfare.

[cross posted at blog.cleantech.com]

It’s so easy to get caught up in the comforts of life that at some point, we look up and realize how wasteful (or stupid) we are with such a precious resource. In my recently released report, Demand-based Water Use: Focus on Smart Irrigation, I came across several staggering data points that have underscored the critical need for better water resource management.

The first doozy: 58 percent of U.S. commercial and residential water is used for outdoor irrigation. Seriously? That’s a whole lot of water just to keep our landscapes looking pretty. At the very least, we should mitigate wasteful irrigation practices.

As I illustrate in this brief, there are five commercially available smart irrigation companies helping farmers, commercial building owners, corporations and homeowners conserve water, save energy and reduce pollution with a payback period of fewer than two years, to boot! Anything short of smart irrigation just seems…….criminal, if you want to get dramatic about it.

Investments in important supply-side solutions to water resource management like desalination cannot come at the cost of sensible demand-side conservation measures. Investors should look to the economic and water conservation breakthroughs smart irrigation has helped businesses achieve.

[cross posted on blog.cleantech.com]

A weekend hike intended to ‘clear my mind’ instead reminded me of how interrelated our world really is, underscoring for me, the importance of my research focus on water.

Coastal trails and beaches round out my free time as a resident of northern California and last weekend was no exception. Much to my 5-year-old’s excitement, we planned a hike in the Marin Headlands that included a stop at the Marine Mammal Center – a rescue, rehabilitate and release organization for northern California’s marine mammal community.

Volunteers that run the non-profit organization greeted us with warm smiles and a sincere desire to help us learn about their patients in recovery. Many of them, I was told, are suffering from malnutrition as a result of depleted food supplies along the coast. Others are rehabilitating from domoic acid toxicity caused by harmful algal blooms in Monterey and some are healing from wounds caused by various ocean debris that in some cases, strangles the animals until they strand themselves feeling sick from infection.

Explaining this state of affairs to a bright eyed child is humbling yet a wonderful learning moment. Nearly every aspect of our lives is interrelated, I explained. I’m not sure why food sources are disappearing for the sea lions but perhaps, I postulated, it is a result of over fishing or else adverse effects on the ecosystem as a result of climate change. We could look up causes of algal blooms, I suggested when asked what they were, and how they were hurting the animals.

Our friendly docent came to the rescue with answers but I was reminded of one undeniable fact: humans are not the only ones affected by water scarcity or quality issues. It put all my research into water technologies in perspective.

If that dose of reality (albeit touchy feely) wasn’t enough, I was in awe when I saw the patient pens. Not only were they powered by solar panels but lo and behold, it appears as though an advanced filtration system is in place. According to the docent, 80 percent of all onsite water use is recycled. She suggested that I get in touch with the operations director to learn more, and indeed I will.

When you work in water, everyday is a field trip.

[cross posted on blog.cleantech.com]

No doubt, the opportunity in water is gaining visibility. With governments pursuing policy to incentivize water innovation and giants like IBM, SAP and Oracle circling the sector, water is fast becoming the industry of choice for corporations not traditionally in water and those specifically in information technology  – they want a piece of the pie.

The IT opportunity is logically drawn from the investments and innovation poured into the Smart Grid. By some estimates the market opportunity is $20 billion but not only are corporations mindful of market outlooks they are developing a business strategy in Smart Water. In this way, global market sizing and the macroeconomics of water supply and demand are informative but not actionable insights.

So, what questions must be answered in order to develop a strategy in water?

First, what are the unique aspects of a particular customer segment in water? Public-sector buyers are notoriously conservative with a complex business process. Just this week, the Portuguese Construction Firm, ITT Corporation, secured three wastewater treatment plant contracts in the Montemor-o-Velho municipality of Portugal in a complicated business transaction where ITT Corporation partnered with both a construction company as well as a design firm to win the bid.

Second, will my business solution require water-related hardware and service or just one or the other? Those players entering the water space must consider and hopefully learn from those with existing water businesses. GE, ABB and Siemens are highly acquisitive companies that provide both products and services to industrial water users and utilities and they too continue to refine their sales and marketing efforts given the diversity of water’s customer segments.

Finally, what should a company learn from current leaders in water instrumentation and analytics? While IBM is testing the waters in Galway Bay with sensor networks that track water flow and quality, today, Schneider-Electric and ABB provide the instrumentation and analytics used by some of the largest private utilities in the world. Their solutions help utilities not only save on energy costs but provide critical visibility and control on the systems. These products and services should not be overlooked by new players in Smart Water.

All that said, the Smart Grid analogy is strong, and the likes of IBM, SAP and Oracle will naturally draw on their strengths here as they consider similar solutions to water. I offer but a simple suggestion to consider gathering actionable insight on the strategies and innovation of existing leaders in the space.

[cross posted on blog.cleantech.com]

If you drive a car, you are likely unaware of the processes various parts have endured. Door lock mechanisms and tie-down hooks on truck beds – to name a few examples – are covered with anti-corrosive coating to ensure product lifetime.

The manufacturing process associated with coating technologies, however, is so toxic that China and the European Union have implemented new regulations that prohibit traditional technologies including plating, zinc flake and hot dip galvanized. Such processes produce toxic fumes and hazardous waste by-product.

Cleveland-based, UK incorporated company, Greenkote, has developed a surface metal coating technology that not only replaces but outperforms toxic conventional coating technologies. The company has developed a proprietary process by which the coating product is diffused onto the metal, creating a dry process that eliminates toxic fumes and hazardous waste.

“Not only is the material environmentally friendly, the process is environmentally friendly,” Jim Thomson, the company’s chief financial officer told the Cleantech Group.

The process helps save on costs as well, Thomson told us, since the elimination of hazardous waste mitigates the need for cleanup management costs.

According to Thompson, Greenkote aims to license their technology to the component manufacturers or ‘Tier 1s’ that directly produce parts of original equipment manufacturers like VW Audi, Ford or Daimler.

“OEMs have a production part approval process where Tier 1 component manufacturers must work with companies like us on new coating specifications for the OEMs,” said Thomson.

It is in these coating specifications that OEMs aim to comply with regulation, according to Thomson.

According to Thomson, the largest user of their technology is VW Audi. Daimler has also accepted their technology and is in the process of putting in a parts order for Greenkote, Thomson told us.

While the company is breaking into the automobile industry, the company has its roots in construction parts, Thomson told us.

“In construction, there are a lot of fasteners in bridges and other construction structures,” Thomson said.

“We have done various bridges in the UK, projects in the Heathrow airport as well as a cricket stadium,” Thomson said.

Today, the company is raising £16 million to break into the North American, European and Asian automobile industries. The funding will be used to fund small pilot lines until the technology can be licensed to the Tier 1s, according to Thomson.

2009 company revenue was $7 million, according to Thomson and he expects that number to grow to $30 million in four years.