Agrion

Water Treatment: Technologies and Investment

Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 8:30am San Francisco / 11:30am New York / 5:30pm Paris and Frankfurt

Smart Cities & Transportation | Water Management

The multi-billion dollar water industry holds great potential due to an aging water infrastructure and increasing demand; such challenges equate to a substantial need for water treatment technology and the corresponding capital to bring new technologies to market. Focusing on the latter, what level of investment is needed in the next 20-30 years to ensure the steady supply of clean water in the US? How can investors overcome historic obstacles in this industry, such as long adoption cycles from proof-of-concept to commercialization, risk aversity on the part of water utilities, and market fragmentation that equates to low valuations? Where are the areas of growth and greatest opportunity in water technology?

We unearth in this meeting innovative technologies for water and wastewater treatment, including chemicals, filtration, biological treatment, and flow control. We then widen our scope to survey the water market and investment scenarios. Ultimately, we ask: through science and dollars, how can we stem the dawning “era of water scarcity’ that is upon us, and ensure an adequate and unfailing supply of clean water now and for future generations?

Identifying Areas of Innovation in Water Treatment

What methods for treating and purifying water are advantageous in terms of efficacy, cost, and health? (exs. filtration, sedimentation, activated sludge, slow sand filters, etc.)?
What strategies exist for achieving energy balance and greater efficiencies in primary, secondary, and advanced treatment?
How do technologies address uniquely industrial, utility, and residential treatment needs and standards?
What are the advances in the treatment of the secondary waste stream (solids), in particular energy and material extraction?
What are the breakthroughs in membrane material technologies? What is the cost-feasibility of reverse osmosis and reuse technologies?
How can new water technologies overlay the existing water production and distribution infrastructure?
Spotlighting R&D stage technologies (advanced biological treatment, photocatalyic oxidation, nano-enabled technology, etc.).

Poised for Investment

What are the points of greatest need for investment in water treatment?
What are the revenue drivers for water treatment companies?
How do companies craft a scalable solution?
Why would/do corporations buy new treatment technology?
How do companies diversify revenue streams to mitigate risk for investors and ensure steady baseline revenue (models such as asset ownership, continued operation and maintenance offerings, etc)?
How do investors diversify risk?
Public-Private Partnerships: what approaches exist to unite technology companies and public utilities under existing regulations and PSP contracts?
What macro-economic impulses determine funding for water technology? How do industry stakeholders identify and capitalize on high-growth geographic markets (in the US, in Europe, in the developing market)?