Interview Johannes Boonstra

‘Stimulate entrepreneurship and spin-off even more’

Wetsus, the academic knowledge institute on WaterCampus Leeuwarden, wants to support the growth of new and existing water technology companies even more in the coming years. “If there is entrepreneurship in a water technologist, we want to foster it”, says executive board member Johannes Boonstra.

Innovating and working together

According to Boonstra, a variety of WaterCampus entrepreneurship education, business development, marketing and matchmaking incentive programmes have supported enterprising scientists. They have experienced that WaterCampus Leeuwarden is the place to be to start and grow a water tech company. Thanks to the WaterCampus partners— Wetsus, the Centre of Expertise Water Technology (CEW) and the Water Alliance—they can benefit from a large network and get support in many areas, from idea to application. “ WaterCampus has made tremendous strides in entrepreneurship in recent years, partly due to the appointment of Ronald Wielinga as Manager of Entrepreneurship”, says Boonstra. “Wetsus accounted for no less than 36 spin-offs in recent years and we aim to let that number grow even faster. Of course without losing focus on our core business of research, innovation and education.” WaterCampus also stimulates cooperation between water technology companies and suppliers. “There are already numerous examples of that. Some installation companies or tank builders, for example, have started to employ academically educated technologists, turning manufacturing companies into knowledge companies. This strengthens both the water industry and the economy as a whole.”

Boonstra: “Not every good technologist is also a great entrepreneur —and vice versa— and there’s nothing wrong with that. So, try to think in smart alliances. Collaborating with a commercial expert may seem more expensive than working alone as a technologist, but joining forces can also reap more reward.”

Groundbreaking innovations

Wetsus is the knowledge engine at the basis of the WaterCampus innovation chain. > The institute organizes cooperation between industry and science to convert ideas into new concepts, aimed at breakthrough innovations in water technology. Its members include more than a hundred companies worldwide and over twenty European universities and knowledge institutes. “With our help, company needs are translated into scientific projects and ground-breaking innovations”, says Boonstra. “Our science is application orientated. Water tech is a broad, multidisciplinary field, with applications in sectors ranging from water purification, to energy, health, food and chemistry.” Boonstra is proud of the scientific results that have been scaled up to practice by its member companies. “Decentralized sanitation got off the ground partly thanks to Wetsus, for example. Blue Energy is another well-known example.” The new Wetsus innovation book is just published, containing inspiring cases of Wetsus know how applied in the field. Boonstra: “The book clearly shows that our developments in the lab are being translated into practice faster and more often. A few prime examples are electrochemical phosphate recovery, water batteries and innovative ways to recover nitrogen compounds. Rapid, large-scale application of our scientific knowledge by our company participants remains one of our highest ambitions. We are looking forward to launching a lot of new pilots in 2021.”

Structural funding

Wetsus, which now has almost two hundred employees, has gained an important place in science since its establishment in 2003. It is considered by many to be the leading water technology institute of the world. Wetsus is also well respected and considered an added value in the Dutch scientific community. Half of the 15 million/year Wetsus budget is paid by the participating companies and universities, the other half by governments. The latter is a challenge: “Our innovation and cooperation model is unique”, says Boonstra. “So unique, that there are unfortunately no standard budgets available in the Netherlands for structural government funding for our institute. We want to move towards long-term funding security from the Dutch government and are working hard with the relevant authorities and with the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) to achieve clarity in 2021.”

Johannes Boonstra: ‘it is important to continuously receive companies, scientists, politicians and policy makers’

Visits

To increase and maintain the network and support for Wetsus and WaterCampus it is important to continuously receive companies, scientists, politicians and policy makers. These site visits increase the understanding of the relevance of our innovation model for their organisation, the economy and society. “In the current coronavirus crisis, most visits are digital. We look forward to welcoming guests back on site as soon as the measures allow.” Boonstra and Wetsus are not daunted by the crisis however. “Unfortunately, the European Water Technology Week was cancelled last year, brainstorming sessions are less ‘spontaneous’ and researchers have had limited access to labs. Nevertheless, science has made very good progress and for many meetings, such as internal conferences and consultations with companies and universities, we have found a good digital alternative. We are moving forward and unexpected ideas still emerge. Do not hesitate to contact us with a breakthrough idea that science can help to become a reality!”

wetsus.nl