The global water demand is expected to increase up to 30% by 2050, mainly due to a higher demand for industrial and domestic uses. According to FAO projections, in the current scenario of global population growth, expected to reach 9.8 billion by then, food production should increase by 50%, while increasing water consumption by the agricultural sector by only 10%. That will be possible, to a great extent, thanks to the optimisation of irrigation and the implementation of technology innovations. These will be based on research, and will generate opportunities for new companies and business models that will facilitate the uptake of new technologies by users.
Cajamar is setting up a high-tech water business incubator, which will become a European reference centre hosting SMEs, entrepreneurs and technologists specialised in new technologies related to efficient and sustainable water use. To do that, it will create a solid and proactive international water community, to attract talent to develop innovative technologies, and will encourage the transfer of knowledge to SMEs and technology to users.
The high-tech water business incubator will be a reference centre hosting SMEs, entrepreneurs and technologists
Our model is born with its own identity, based on the innovation ecosystem that Cajamar has been forging in the past 40 years, and with one challenge ahead: provide opportunities to entrepreneurs and facilitate the development of initiatives to support better use and management of water resources. Cajamar will make available to entrepreneurs infrastructure, resources and technical and technological support for project development and validation in real environments, either in our experimental facilities or through our network of collaborators. We will identify market niches and facilitate access to funding. To do all that, we will implement unique incubation and acceleration programmes (face-to-face and virtual), with customised training and mentorship plans, adapted to the needs of each project. In addition, we will put companies in touch with agents from our Cajamar water community, as a meeting point between the issues and the technology innovations, fostering innovative entrepreneurship and leading to new opportunities. We seek business projects based on innovative technology dealing with water in any setting (agriculture, urban, etc.), preferably related to the following fields of specialisation: generation of resources (desalination, water treatment, reclamation), use efficiency (sensors, control equipment, remote sensing, etc.), energy and environment. Moreover, as cross-cutting areas we highlight governance and the use of new technologies to improve water management through digitalisation (IoT, artificial intelligence, big data, etc.)
Cajamar InnovaCenter will initiate its activities shortly. If you have an innovative project or idea related to water, we would like to help you. We will help you meet specific project needs to accelerate the launching and growth of your company.
During the coming 5 years we intend to encourage the creation of companies whose innovations and technologies contribute to improving the management of an essential and scarce resource: water. We will support more than 84 companies dealing with water technologies and will encourage the creation of 36 new companies, which will generate more than 260 jobs. This project is co-financed by the Multiregional Operational Programme 2014-2020 of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).