Feb. 20, 2015 -- AccelerateH20, a Texas water technology accelerator created to discover, promote and invest in new and existing innovations that have potential to fill demands and needs in the state's $9-billion water technology market, has entered into a partnership with Isle Inc., an independent technology and innovation consultancy specializing in clean systems, to deliver a series of Technology Approval Group (TAG) meetings in Texas over the course of 2015. Launched at the end of last year, AccelerateH2O was developed by the Texas Research & Technology Foundation, a nonprofit organization driving economic development in biosciences and technology (see "Texas launches new state-of-the-art water technology accelerator").
AccelerateH2O and Isle will work together to bring forward-thinking water agencies and organizations in Texas to a series of jointly-hosted TAG meetings throughout the state over the course of the year. Technologies selected by the attendee panel will attend the meetings to present their innovations with a view to seeking market feedback, validation and support for field trials or demonstration opportunities to reduce their time to commercialization. The meetings will follow Isle's proven TAG meeting format, which has delivered around 100 sessions throughout the world over the last 10 years.
"The partnership between AccelerateH20 and Isle will provide a valuable contribution towards the objectives of both organizations," said Ed Archuleta, chairman of the Executive Committee and former CEO and president of the El Paso Water Utility. "Bringing the Isle TAG forums to Texas will not only supply Texas water agencies with a stream of new water technologies from around the world for evaluation, which address their current and future challenges; it will also provide a direct channel for Texas-based water technologies to gain exposure and present their innovative offerings to the other global markets in which the Isle TAG forum operates."
Isle's mission is to accelerate the market uptake of "step-change" technologies by introducing them to potentially interested water utilities during the pre-commercial stages of development and by facilitating additional research and trials to demonstrate the feasibility of the technologies. It receives no funding from manufacturers and maintains complete independence from the technologies they introduce to utilities. Existing agreements between Isle, the Water Research Foundation and the Water Environment Research Foundation ensure that promising new technologies can be taken to trial in the field and that objective results and conclusions can be drawn through an independent, peer-reviewed process (see "Partnership to conduct major research, testing on emerging water technologies").
"Investment in new technology is desperately needed if the water industry is to tackle the challenges ahead. This partnership between AccelerateH2O and Isle brings together the strengths of two organizations who share a common goal," said Bill Kelly, president of Isle Inc. "We look forward to working with AccelerateH20 to bring new, innovative water technologies to the key stakeholders in Texas, as well as discovering new technologies within the state that we can introduce to the rest of the world."
See also:
"Texas implementing new technologies to address strained water supplies"
"Report shows more water conservation education needed for state of Texas"
About Accelerate H2O
AccelerateH2O was formed to identify the most efficient and effective pathway for technology development and deployment across Texas' residential, industrial, agricultural, and utility end-users. With over 18 university research centers, 4,600 water agencies, 5,000+ medium and large corporate campuses, and thousands of farms and ranches, Texas represents an undiscovered $9-billion water technology marketplace. Yet its first and foremost mission is to solve the most challenging problems facing Texans due to the ongoing drought and leverage opportunities sparked by the continued growth of the state economy. For more information, visit www.accelerateh2o.org.
About Isle Inc.
Isle identifies emerging technologies and accelerates their market uptake through their global innovation forum -- the Technology Approval Group (TAG). TAG has been operating outside the U.S. since 2005 and in Orange County since 2011. With a membership base of over 100 water utilities, this innovation forum will gain access to emerging technologies relevant to the nation's water industry. The TAG model is focused on supporting technology startup companies by combining Isle's technical skills with the experience and engagement of the U.S. water utilities and the financial backing of investment specialists in North America and Europe. For more information, visit www.isleutilities.com.
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