Thu, 01/22/2015 - 00:00

ABU DHABI, UAE (22 January 2015)—In its debut, Innovate@IWS—a competition to find and accelerate next-generation technologies to conserve water—announced its winners at the third annual International Water Summit (IWS), part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) hosted by Masdar. “Innovate@IWS is an exciting new platform for innovators and clean technologists to connect with investors, partners and end users to access the latest inventions in water,” said Stuart Moss, managing director of Isle Utilities, a U.K.-based technology and innovation consultancy that co-organized the competition. Prior to IWS, 16 finalists were selected in three water categories—municipal, industrial and real estate. During IWS from 19-22 January, company representatives were brought before a panel of judges representing high-level expertise in water technology across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, in a competition to determine the most promising technologies for enhancing water security in arid regions. The winners, announced by Moss and Bruce Ferguson of the Masdar Institute, are as follows:

  • Municipal: Trevi Systems, a California-based desalination company, developed a forward-osmosis desalination process for use in a wide range of applications, from saltwater to brackish water, as well as industrial wastewater with a proprietary draw solution.
  • Industrial: French company BGH took top honors for its original Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) technology, which provides an effective treatment of high total dissolved solids (TDS) waters, making it ideal for treating industrial wastewater in the hydrocarbons, mining, and nuclear sectors.
  • Real Estate: In water for real estate, the winner is THERMOWATT Energy and Building Ltd., a company based in the U.K., for its heat-pump technology that uses energy residing in wastewater to cool and heat larger buildings.
The winning technologies demonstrated excellence in three key areas: uniqueness, business potential and long-term vision. All winners will receive dedicated meetings with potential stakeholders from the investment, end user, and partner communities. In addition to Moss and Ferguson, the expert judges included Alan Thomson, managing director of the Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company; Dr. Piers Clark, senior partner at Global Water Development Partners; Masdar Institute Professor Dr. Taha B. M. J. Ouarda; Vladimir Tausanovic, secretary general of the International Association of Water Supply Companies in the Danube River Catchment Area (IAWD); Dr. Corrado Somnariva, managing director of ILF Consulting Engineers Middle East, and Amjad Ata-Allah, operations director of PepsiCo Jordan, along with executives from Degremont SA, the Global Water Fund, and Ramboll. The 2015 edition of the International Water Summit began January 19, and is co-located with the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) and EcoWaste. The event is endorsed by the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water, the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi, the Regulation and Supervision Bureau and Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company.