The Environmental Tech Lab (ETL), a joint initiative between the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Partnership Fund for New York City, has released findings from its second annual proof-of-concept program. This initiative aims to harness emerging technology to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing public agencies. For eight weeks, six startups—chosen from a pool of more than 100 applicants—worked with DEP to pilot their solutions in real-world environments.
Created in 2023 as one of three innovation labs under the Partnership Fund’s “technology in the public interest” framework, ETL serves as a platform to identify and implement promising tech innovations from around the world. These solutions support the operation and upkeep of New York City’s extensive water and wastewater systems, which deliver about one billion gallons of high-quality drinking water daily to nearly 10 million people.
This year’s program focused on two key areas, selected through extensive conversations with 30 DEP senior staff from 12 different divisions, including input from the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners:
- Resilience Challenge: How can DEP advance climate resiliency goals including carbon reduction actions, noise/air/water compliance initiatives, flooding mitigations, and water conservation strategies?
- Data Management & Utilization Challenge: How can DEP integrate and analyze disparate data sets to drive business strategies, deliver capital construction projects, optimize critical data models, and better protect people and infrastructure?
The newly published report outlines how each participating company implemented their technology, highlights early outcomes, and explores future potential.
Highlights from the Program:
- DNOTA Air Quality Corp deployed a solar-powered sensor to gather localized air and noise data in Queens and the Bronx, enabling precise environmental assessments with minimal infrastructure.
- GenH completed a technical feasibility analysis showing that its modular hydropower system could generate 3.55 GWh annually and prevent 1,630 tons of CO₂ emissions if installed at the East Branch/Sodom Dam Spillway and Croton Falls Diverting Dam Spillway.
- Intelligent Instruments tested a noise-monitoring device in Long Island City and found it could cut down on unnecessary inspections by 70-80%, improving the efficiency of 311 noise complaint responses.
- Prezerv used 3D scanning to map 20,000 square feet of underground piping at the Owl’s Head Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility, helping reduce potential construction delays.
- Segura Water introduced a portable testing device that analyzed water samples from pipelines in Queens and City Island. The tool reduced processing time for water quality results from six weeks to under five minutes, on average.
- Gryps applied its AI-powered data management system to 80,000 DEP capital project documents, significantly shortening search times and surfacing new insights from legacy records.
Maria Gotsch, President & CEO of the Partnership Fund for New York City, said, "This year’s proof-of-concept results demonstrates how cutting-edge technology can help government work smarter and more efficiently. The Environmental Tech Lab creates a bridge between DEP’s operational teams and the entrepreneurs building next-generation solutions, enabling government to test, refine, and adopt solutions that make a real difference. Technology is changing quickly, and this kind of collaboration ensures that we can not only address today’s challenges, but prepare for tomorrow’s."
Rohit T. Aggarwala, DEP Commissioner and New York City Chief Climate Officer, said, “Identifying and integrating new technologies is critical to everything we do, but it is especially useful in helping us make New York City more resilient in the face of extreme weather and to maximizing the value of every dollar we spend. Our collaboration with the Partnership Fund for New York City allows us to attract and acquire innovative, new technology and implement it at scale with benefits for all New Yorkers.”
Stacey Matlen, Senior Vice President of Innovation at the Partnership for New York City, added, “The companies in this year’s Lab showcased an exciting variety of ways that technology can help solve complex challenges for a critical part of New York’s infrastructure. We are excited to continue working with DEP to help them prepare for future concerns and further strengthen a system every New Yorker depends upon.”
