The Water Council Now Accepting Innovative Ideas for the Tech Challenge

Connecting Innovative Solutions with Badger Meter and Zurn Industries
Apply Nov 1, 2018 – Jan 13, 2019

The Water Council's new global innovation competition is looking for cutting-edge freshwater technologies and ideas with high potential for commercialization or implementation. The first round of challenges is focused on sensors that detect heavy metals, industrial chemicals, microbiological organisms or disinfection byproducts.

Anyone, anywhere with an idea is encouraged to apply. Selected finalists will present in-person to the sponsoring organization to compete for prize money, access to corporate R&D resources and the opportunity to partner on the development, marketing, licensing or sale of the winning technology or idea.

About

Spearheaded by The Water Council, the Tech Challenge is a new global, open innovation competition designed to identify cutting-edge freshwater technologies and ideas with high potential for commercialization or implementation. A series of Tech Challenges run throughout the year, and each Challenge is designed around a specific topic identified by corporate sponsors. Every Tech Challenge is open to anyone with a good idea and candidates can submit an application to as many of the Challenges as they like.

Prospective technologies can come from entrepreneurs, university students or researchers, professionals already working in water-dependent industries, the private sector, and government labs or just inventive individuals.

Representative Image Source: Pixabay, labeled for reuse 

Prize

Challenge finalists will present in-person to the sponsoring organization to compete for:

• Maximum total prize money of $25,000
• If the technology is near commercialization, opportunities to jointly commercialize technology with a sponsoring company
• If the technology needs more research, opportunities to continue research at the Water Equipment & Policy (WEP) Research Center in conjunction with a university professor and sponsoring company
• Access to sponsoring companies’ R&D teams
• Media exposure and communications boost to The Water Council’s water technology leadership network

Technology Interests 

• Sensors for detecting microbiological organisms for:
  Presence of illicit discharges to storm and sanitary sewers
  Presence of pathogens in water distribution systems, wastewater effluent, and biosolids
  Industrial process control
   
• Sensors for detecting disinfection byproducts (DBP) resulting from organic compounds reacting with disinfectant chemicals

Key success criteria for the performance of the solutions include:

Durable
Low cost
Long lasting
Low energy usage
Rapid response
Non-toxic reagents or no reagents required
Minimizing false positives or false negatives

Water Startup Community in Milwaukee

“Midwest’s coolest, most underrated city” – Vogue, 2018

• 34 water tech portfolio companies
• 100+ water-related pilots
• Home to a leading utility of the world
• 200+ water technology companies
• Home to a National Science Foundation Water Equipment & Policy Center
• One of the nation’s leading agricultural states with more than 5.5 billion dollars in farm product sales per year
• Hub for makers, entrepreneurs, inventors, chefs, dreamers, and creatives of all kinds. More about Milwaukee and Wisconsin

Apply here: Tech Challenge - Biological & DBP Sensors

Media

Taxonomy

• Startups
• Drinking Water Treatment
• Sensor Systems
• Biological Treatment
• Biotechnology
• Water microbiology
• Technology