Support : eNewsletters : Eye on Innovation : Issue 4, April 2010

Cleantech — the next big boom: Where does water innovation fit in?

"When the well's dry, we know the worth of water." — Benjamin Franklin

Water everywhere but not a drop to drink! Approximately two-thirds of the earth's surface is covered by water, yet all around us populations experience the scarcity of usable water. When natural disasters occur, such as the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, clean drinking water is a vital need; in U.S. states like New Mexico and California limited water supplies curtail residential and commercial development; in countries such as Mexico and Australia, despite access to coastal waters on almost every side, potable water is not readily available. Conflicts arise in desert regions of Africa (e.g., Darfur) and the Middle East over precious water resources. The lack of this most vital commodity is a worldwide problem.

Recently, however, Dialog has spotted quite a bit of activity in the water industry, underscoring the importance of water as a cleantech sector. In this issue of Eye of Innovation as part of the cleantech boom, we'll:

• explore scientific and technical literature to find innovative ways scientists are experimenting with solutions to expand water resources;
• check patents to see which companies are competing on what water technologies; and
• identify countries at the forefront in water technology.

Clean water for a healthy world – Focus on the results
Cleantech encompasses areas of energy efficiency, transportation, green construction, renewable energy and sustainable packaging, to name but a few, and is on the minds of the public, corporate CEOs and policymakers worldwide. The cleantech wave is expected to continue to grow, with some analysts estimating the market will crack the $2 trillion threshold by 2030. Where does water technology fit into the cleantech revolution? Desalination, water and wastewater reuse, conservation—the water industry is looking at them all.

Case 1: Membrane technology — what's this?
A search of Dialog's engineering files reveals an abundance of material on membrane technology. An example of some journals covering the topic include: Desalination and Water Treatment, Water Environment Research, Water Science and Technology, and Journal of Membrane Science. Conference papers represent emerging scientific development. A scan of the literature suggests membrane technology is a growing field that reinforces the "clean" principles of sustainability since it works with low energy use and without caustic chemicals.

The term "membrane technology" actually includes a number of processes—microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis—that work to remove harmful contaminants such as bacteria and suspended solids or salt from sea water. Although the end use of the water is different for each of the filtration methods, the principle is the same: membranes allow water to flow through while at the same time catching suspended solids such as pesticides and nitrates or removing hardness from surface water. Nanofiltration in particular has been applied to potable water production recently.

Many water filtration technologies available today have significant drawbacks, such as high pressure requirements, high electricity demands and the use of harmful chemicals. Fortunately, scientists and engineers are developing technologies designed to purify water for human consumption and generating sustainable operations to treat water for a myriad of industrial uses. As a result of continuing development and competition in the market, this use will increase dramatically in the next decade.

Case 2: Wastewater treatment
Anaheim, California-based Catalyx said it has developed a technology to purify heavily polluted wastewater from the textile and other industries using a low-cost, chemical-free process. The process incorporates desalination and forward osmosis, which uses the company's proprietary membrane with a semi-permeable coating. The process saves between 50 percent and 70 percent of the typical cost to dispose of wastewater and can be used in the industrial process. The key to the cost savings is that the process—unlike traditional wastewater treatment—doesn't require pretreatment with pricey chemicals and the membrane isn't fouled by pollutants because it interacts with pure water, extending its usefulness. Also working on this technology is American Water Works, teaming with four Netherlands-based entities that are developing new technologies for seawater desalination and the treatment of surface water and wastewater using reverse osmosis membranes.

Case 3: Desalination
Some of the latest innovations in water cleantech circles suggest companies and university partnerships. Startup ROTEC plans to commercialize technology out of Ben-Gurion University, promising a faster, cheaper method of reverse-osmosis desalination to clean dirty groundwater.

In addition to Ben-Gurion University, the team includes the Hashemite University of Jordan and the University of Colorado at Boulder. The Israeli research was funded in part by grants from the NATO Science for Peace project and the Middle East Desalination Research Center. The researchers are among many trying to find more efficient and less costly methods of desalination. The Yale University spin-out Oasys said it has developed a low-cost, low-energy desalination and purification technology for seawater, wastewater and industrial waste streams. According to the International Desalination Association, the facility expects to produce 50 million gallons of drinkable water a day, making it double the capacity of the current largest U.S. plant and larger than any seawater desalination plant outside the Middle East. In addition, new efforts are looking into developing nanotechnologies for desalination—a whole new direction!

Water innovation beyond desal: New opportunities
Many companies say they are close to innovation in water technologies. Recent experiments include Grundfos' six-month test of a new compact wastewater treatment technology; Coca-Cola's 16 rain water harvesting projects in India; Brunel University spin off, WaterBoxs' disaster relief efforts with water purification and the India joint venture between Chembond Chemical and H20 Innovation.

Find the innovators – Check patents

What types of innovation are scientists and engineers working on to increase water supplies? Obtaining patents is vital for companies in rapidly developing fields, as is keeping up-to-date with anyone else's patenting efforts to determine one's freedom-to-operate or assess cooperation or licensing possibilities. Dialog's worldwide patent collection shows steady 3 increase in patenting activity in water technologies. Monitoring patent applications clues us in to opportunities in water innovation.

• License from individual inventors. Collectively, individual inventors accounted for the majority of all hydropower (i.e., hydro, wave and tidal power) patents granted in the U.S. during 2008 (28 of 38 total U.S. patents granted - almost 74 percent). All other corporations or entities each accounted for less than three percent. The ratio of individual inventors to corporate entities was also particularly high in the hydro/wave/tidal category in 2009. These patents may represent an area of interest for corporations looking to enhance or enter the hydropower field by acquiring or licensing the rights to new hydropower technologies.
• Active areas in hydropower. Although no match for the big four—biofuels, solar, wind, and hybrid/electric vehicle patents—the number of hydro, tidal and wave power patents is slowly rising again after a drop in the first quarter of 2009. Granted patents (9) in this area were up one over the second quarter in 2009 and up five compared to the same period of the year before. Active areas include current-, wave- and tidal-driven hydropower generating devices, A further area of interest to monitor is wastewater-driven hydropower generation.

Expand worldwide

• Inventors in China are filing patents related to cleantech activity in agriculture and wastewater, and record numbers of patent registrations in Japan made 2009 a banner year for cleantech in Asia.
• U.S. hydropower patents were granted in 2008 to entities from 11 countries. The United States accounted for about 63 percent of the patents (24 of 38), with Great Britain about eight percent, and Taiwan and Italy each approximately five percent. The remaining seven countries each produced less than three percent of hydropower patents granted in the U.S.
• The 24 hydropower patents granted to United States entities were relatively evenly distributed among 12 states, with Texas obtaining the most (four total) and New York, Virginia and California accounting for three patents each.

Industry figures: What can we learn?

Dialog's market research files describe a vibrant and growing market for membrane technology. Based on an increase in water policy legislation and water stress in developing countries resulting from increases in population and urbanization, the industry is growing at an annual rate of 15.1 per cent. It is estimated that the global market for membrane technology will reach $1.20 billion by 2014. [Source: Global Membrane Bioreactor Markets (May 2008, Frost & Sullivan) research report]

• What countries lead the way? The Asia Pacific region is the biggest regional market with large installations since 2006 in the municipal and industrial sectors with North America second. The Middle East and Africa, on the other hand, are the fastest growing regional markets due to acute water stress in those regions. The European membrane bioreactor market (MBR) has seen the largest systems installed, especially in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. Moreover, NASA satellite technology, used to try to detect water on Mars, is now being touted as a means to try to detect underground water reserves in arid deserts around the world with a view towards preventing "water wars."
• What companies are dominating? Two tiers—MBR manufacturers and system suppliers
  worldwide (e.g., GE Water & Process Technologies, Siemens Water Technologies and Kubota) and membrane and equipment suppliers (e.g., Koch Membrane Systems, Toray Membranes and Norit), as well as some Asian companies such as Mitsubishi Rayon and Asahi-Kasei—top the list. Locally, Veolia Water, Degremont, Tenix Alliance, as well as Hindustan Dorr-Oliver, among others, lead the way.

Conclusions and next steps

Despite the lack of hype about the water industry over the last decade, there seems to be an awakening recently as academics, nonprofits, investors, and entrepreneurs align to take a shot at breaking through the barriers to innovation in the water sector. There is a looming water crisis for everyone on the globe as populations rise, pollution increases and climate and weather patterns change. Many developing nations and, some not-so-developing regions like Australia and California, are already experiencing water crises leading to the following prospects:

• The market for membrane technology, which plays a key role in water purification, desalination, drinking water treatment, has great potential.
• High technological competence will surely be one of the major elements to enter and secure a leading position in this global market.

In increasing numbers scientists and engineers and the companies and organizations they work for worldwide will be exploring the following questions over the coming years:

• Is water and wastewater reuse an area of innovation research scientists should pursue?
• Are there commercial opportunities in water?
• Which countries are expending resources on new water technologies?
• What game-changing technologies are coming down the pike?
• Where are the best growth opportunities in the sector?
• What is the broader context of the water technology sector?
• Where and why is innovation a necessity in the water sector?
• Which are the top ten technologies that are going to make the biggest difference?

Who will emerge as the ultimate winner? In the end, we may see many winners, but keep an eye on those countries that have powerful government regulations and incentives, large capital infusions, a spirit of innovation and powerful cultural adaptation and enthusiasm. The water sector is one of the markets with the most potential, especially for new innovations. Ride the wave!

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