10 Front-runners in Water-Related Research


Is turning waste and inefficiency into profit and opportunity too much to wish for? Not if you're one of finalists competing for the Imagine H2O Prize.

The competition will award the most innovative and effective water-related startups with technology that can save natural resources, particularly in the areas of sourcing, distributing, treating, and disposing of water.

Imagine H2O seeks to halt a widely anticipated global water crisis, but also views global water problems today as an estimated $500 billion market opportunity for providers of water products and services.

In coverage of the competition, Techcrunch underlines the need for innovation in water-related technology, noting the exceptional amount of energy used to treat water and wastewater. It cites research from the American Council for An Energy Efficient Economy:

"Water and wastewater treatment and distribution in the United States is estimated to consume 50,000 GWh annually, representing 1.4 percent of the total national electricity consumption, and cost over $4 billion each year."

And further research from the River Network:

"On average, two gallons of water is consumed for every kilowatt of electricity used in the United States. This means that 170 gallons are used to run the clothes dryer, 55 gallons are used to run the computer and 73 gallons of water are used to run a TV in a typical American household every month."

Here's a rundown from Techcrunch of last year's winner as well as the 10 contenders for this year's prize:

Last Year's Winner

In 2009, Fruition Sciences took the Imagine H2O grand prize for a system that monitors vineyards with wireless sensors, weather stations and software, ensuring that vines are irrigated efficiently, leading to optimal berry (or grape) yields.

The Fruition Sciences website explains:

"[The company's] real-time sensors [are placed on vines, and] send a wireless reading of a vine's transpiration rate, providing a precise measurement of how much water is moving through the vine...This gives an indication of the vine's water needs. A slow rate of transpiration indicates a vine is low on water (stressed) and potentially at risk of berry dehydration."

This year's IH2O grand prize winners will receive at least $20,000 in cash, $15,000 of in-kind legal services and the same amount in consulting services. IH2O's second and third place winners will each receive at least $10,000 in cash, $7,500 of in-kind legal and the same amount in accounting services. They will be chosen by and announced in March 2011.

This Year's Top 10 Contenders:

    Agua Via develops a 1-atomic layer thick nanotech membrane that enables desalination at a 66% energy reduction and 50% cost reduction, providing energy-efficient purification and wastewater remediation.

    BlackGold Biofuels - Recovers energy from wastewater streams, creating lucrative renewable energy assets from pollution liabilities.

    FogBusters Inc. - Treats petroleum, biofuel and food processing wastewater "better, faster, cheaper, cleaner and greener" while capturing the FOG (fat, oil and grease) to make into biodiesel.

    Hydrovolts - Makes portable floating turbines that make renewable energy and clean water from an untapped global resource of hydrokinetic energy in water canals.

    mOasis (no website publicly available yet) - Harnesses water on any land in the world so that plants grow and the planet can restore its ability to sustain life.

    NLine Energy, Inc. - Converts wasted energy found in water transmission and distribution systems into renewable energy.

    Pilus Energy - Harnesses genetically enhanced bacteria in scalable electrogenic bioreactor and harvests the electricity and biogases from their metabolism of organics like those found in wastewater.

    Puralytics - Solves critical water contamination problems with environmentally superior products.

    Solar-Machines - Innovative, non-PV based technology directly and efficiently converts solar energy into mechanical work for water pumping applications.

Water Resources Management Co. (WRMC) - Helps water utilities realize the full benefits of their investments in advanced meter reading, system control and asset management.

Which competitor's technology is the most impressive to you?

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