Australasian Water Programme Creates Opportunities For U.S. Technology Companies

A programme developed by the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) for the Australian and New Zealand water industries will create opportunities for innovative, US-based technology companies.

A Technology Roadmap has been created by the Australian and New Zealand water sectors through W-Lab – a WSAA initiative delivered by technology and business consultancy Isle Utilities (Asia–Pacific), and change-making consultancy ThinkPlace.

“The Technology Roadmap depicts a new water future vision co-created by the water-industry in Australia and New Zealand,” said Adam Lovell, executive director, WSAA.

“The Roadmap will guide both the industry as they seek to explore innovative solutions, as well as technology developers who are putting their ideas into practice and want to play a part in helping the water industry reach their goals.”

W-Lab is activating the global technology market by putting out a series of call to markets, based on the key opportunities identified through the ideation summit and Launchpad workshops which focused on the four innovation frames: customer, nature, enterprise and flows.

Dr Alex Cech, chief technology officer at Isle Utilities (Asia-Pacific) said, “The Roadmap identifies where the key challenges to the industry lie, and then matches those challenges with technologies and solutions from around the world.”

“The discovery of the individual requirements and the specific challenges of the local utilities through the W-Lab programme enables us to use our global reach to find bespoke solutions for the water sector. This process empowers our network to make confident decisions for their organisation’s future.”

W-Lab wants to hear from innovative technology companies who can help assist water utilities in lowering costs through innovation, using new technologies to remain relevant as an equitable provider of essential services, as well as deliver to ever-evolving customer expectations in service delivery and care for the environment.

“My ultimate hope for the programme is that it will allow water authorities to make informed, confident decisions. We want to get to the point where all utilities have access to the same information and a community of peers who are facing these similar challenges. Once you get to that point everything flows on from there,” added Dr Cech.

The first Technology Showcase, hosted on 11 November, investigated a high quality shortlist of technologies that meet one of the high priority opportunity areas – How might we explore new markets, recover value from waste and understand the potential impacts of new products for our customers, our environment and our business.

The next call to market will be released mid-December with the second Showcase scheduled for March 2021.

The Roadmap was launched at the Technology Showcase by Barwon Water managing director Tracey Slatter and can be downloaded at https://www.wsaa.asn.au/media/water-utilities-unite-industry-first-technology-roadmap

For more information, visit https://www.isleutilities.com/services/w-lab

About Isle Utilities
Isle Utilities is an independent technology, innovation and business consultancy that brings together technical and commercial specialists to facilitate relationships. Our team is comprised of highly skilled engineers, scientists and business leaders, with extensive and diverse consulting expertise.

About WSAA
The Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) is the peak industry body representing the urban water industry. Our members provide water and wastewater services to the over 24 million customers in Australia and New Zealand and many of Australia’s largest industry and commercial enterprises.

About W-Lab
W-Lab bridges the gap between emerging technologies and water utilities by leaning on the network’s experience and knowledge to inspire confidence. Water utilities face a number of similar challenges, regardless of the size of the organisation - consequently the most strategic way to solve these issues is through industry-wide collaboration and knowledge sharing.