‘there is an urgent need for smart solutions’

from its European office in Ireland, The Water Council is now also helping Danish and French water-tech companies get started in America.

Incentive

In his lecture, Director René Buck of BCI Global addressed the important role clusters play in innovation. He believes that science parks, campuses and clusters are more than a collection of boring buildings. “By collaborating with people from different disciplines, you organize coincidence in the hopes of coming up with new solutions”, says Buck.

“The whole world is short of clean water. There is an urgent need for smart solutions”, he noted. “But if the problem is so extensive, why aren’t these solutions in place yet? Water is cheap, so there isn’t much incentive to innovate. There are many small water-tech companies, but global solutions require a lot of money. You also need launching customers. One way to overcome these barriers is through collaboration in clusters.” According to Buck, companies need to stay alert when working with competitors. “However, there are plenty of models that have proven successful and can lead to new products”, he assures.

FOLLOW-UP

It was the second time the water-tech clusters gathered in Leeuwarden. “The first time was very spontaneous with the goal of building a global network”, explains Water Alliance director Hein Molenkamp. This time, many more clusters were invited. European clusters were particularly present alongside their Asian and North American counterparts. “We regularly met in webinars during the pandemic, but the contact with Asian countries, such as South Korea, decreased. That is where you notice the importance of physical presence”, Molenkamp says. The idea of working together to foster top talent has also faded into the background. Molenkamp hopes to pick that up again soon. Many clusters are a collaboration of companies aimed at strengthening exports. The cooperation, such as at WaterCampus Leeuwarden, between companies, science and government aimed at innovations and accelerating market launch, remains unique. a general impression of the ewtw 2022 can be found here