Startups are a powerful source for innovation: The Water Innovation Living Lab (WILL) helps utilities harness this. WILL is an exciting accelerator programme for the water sector and is currently looking for innovative water utilities to join the programme for its second edition.
Led by Isle Utilities, WILL was launched as a collaboration between academia, supply chain and utilities to foster the pipeline of new solutions into the water sector to address the significant environmental challenges the water companies are facing.
The inaugural edition of the WILL accelerator programme brought together its first cohort between January and April 2023. As a result, a number of utilities are exploring trials with these innovators.
The cohort consisted of 10 emerging start-ups from around the world bringing solutions across a range of disciplines: water and wastewater treatment, real-time data analytics, leak detection, smart water networks, sludge treatment, nutrient recovery, energy efficiency, and greenhouse gas emission reduction.
WILL is an exciting accelerator programme for the water sector and is currently looking for innovative water utilities to join the programme for its second edition
The programme aims to support and nurture these promising young companies as they navigate the water industry, providing them with knowledge, tools, and connections to ensure their success. This dynamic enabled the utilities to deeply understand whether there are new solutions to drive their level of performance.
The 16-week accelerator offers training seminars and coaching on various aspects of how to run a start-up: legal matters, business models, go-to-market strategies, investments, and marketing. As WILL prepares for a second edition, we take a look back at the first cohort.
The programme enabled the utilities to deeply understand and test whether there are new solutions to drive increasing performance in their operations. WILL plays a vital role in fostering water sector innovation through collaboration. By bringing together start-ups, industry players, and academic institutions, the programme provides a platform for innovative ideas to flourish, offering solutions to critical water challenges. With the inaugural edition successfully completed, the Water Innovation Living Lab is set to continue empowering water-focused start-ups and driving advancements in the industry.
WILL can enhance the utilities’ innovation programmes, providing them early access to the next generation of technology innovations. Do you want to be a utility that has access to the next generation of technology innovations? please contact will@isleutilities.com.
