bringing the world to the world water hub
By Dean Amhaus, President & CEO
Milwaukee is the place to be this summer! This week, the city is welcoming 50,000 delegates, journalists, lobbyists and others for the Republican National Convention. I’m confident the visitors will leave with appreciation for our beautiful city and its freshwater resources.
Last month, we welcomed a much smaller group to Milwaukee – the 2024 participants in our BREW 2.0 Post-Accelerator. These eight global start-ups participated in networking events, training and a live Demo Day. I’d say it was one of our most successful BREW weeks yet, and the cohort seems to agree, judging by this LinkedIn post from Irish company GKinetic Energy:
“What’s in the water in Milwaukee?! Because our founders have come back PUMPED after their week as part of the BREW 2.0 program!”
Whatever it is, it’s powering The Water Council through a busy time as we complete the pre-proposal for our National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engine. Read more about that and our other activities below.
NSF Resiliency Engine
Hopefully you know by now that The Water Council and our partners received a Development Award last year from the National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines program. After more than a year of intense engine development, we have a much better idea of what the engine will address and how it will solve global challenges. With that, we are proud to announce the official name and branding of our engine.
Introducing Water + Energy Forward!
Of course, this name is meant to capture our engine’s goal of helping manufacturers and utilities, particularly small- and medium-sized ones, enhance water and energy sustainability and resiliency. “Forward” represents progress and opportunity and is also the motto of our home state, Wisconsin. Finally, we call the engine W+E Forward for short, pronounced as WE Forward, emphasizing the inclusivity of the project.
We are racing to complete our pre-proposal to the NSF by Aug. 6 as we compete for a Launch Award of up to $160 million over the next 10 years. Members of the engine’s leadership team gathered in our offices last week for an in-depth workshop to finalize our plans. We had representatives from local and national universities, industry and nonprofits. I am so excited about what we accomplished during that time and greatly appreciate the tremendous work by the leadership team.
Keep an eye out over the next few weeks for some exciting announcements regarding W+E Forward and our NSF proposal. Join our engine mailing list for the latest updates.
innovation update
As I stated earlier, we conducted the in-person week for our BREW 2.0 Post-Accelerator cohort in late June. Leaders of the eight innovative water tech startups in this year’s cohort attended workshops, immersed themselves in the vibrant city of Milwaukee and engaged in valuable networking opportunities, fostering connections from across the globe.
The companies presented their innovations at our annual Demo Day, held in person at Radio Milwaukee. If you couldn’t make it to Demo Day, check out this recording for a replay. We heard many glowing comments about this year’s crop of startups. Paul Sambanis, vice president of sustainability at Sloan, had this to say:
“I am completely blown away by the innovation the companies are developing. I am encouraging my network to find ways to collaborate with these companies and The Water Council. We need these solutions to help fight climate change, improve health outcomes and drive efficiency!”
After an exciting evening of pitches, we gathered for a rooftop reception to celebrate 15 years of driving freshwater innovation and advancing water stewardship. We want to thank everyone who watched some amazing pitches with us! A special thank you to our BREW 2.0 sponsors, Xylem, Beckhoff Automation and Thales Water Advisors, and our event sponsor, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Thanks as well to NVNG Investment Advisors and Baird for hosting a special investor event for the cohort.
water stewardship
Our WAVE: Water Stewardship Verified program continues to grow with the addition of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions. Zurn Elkay joins an extensive list of companies that are advancing their water efforts beyond traditional water management and focusing on a holistic water stewardship approach.
We also congratulate KPMG US for becoming WAVE Verified! KPMG US has worked vigorously to assess water-related risk across the company, identify the highest water-related impacts using credible water-related data, and implement the best practices in improving water stewardship performance. Its work was independently verified by SCS Global Services.
KPMG US is a strategic partner with The Water Council on water stewardship. This verification indicates its commitment to water stewardship not just for its clients, but also within its own operations.
Last month, our VP of water stewardship, Matt Howard, was in Washington, D.C., to meet with our partner American Chemistry Council (ACC) on next steps in building out a comprehensive water stewardship program for the sector. Together, TWC and ACC continue to focus on roll-out and support materials for use of the Water Body Risk Assessment framework that we co-developed.
This month, Matt heads to the campus of The Ohio State University for the Suppliers Partnership (SP) Innovation Summit, where he’ll speak on the latest trends in corporate water stewardship and lead a workshop on how to engage the automotive supply chain on water stewardship. Our partnership with SP is in its third year, and like our work with ACC, we’re excited to see how the application of water stewardship best practices unfolds across another strategically important manufacturing sector.
new members
This month, we welcome Zurn Elkay not just as a new WAVE participant but as a returning member of The Water Council. Milwaukee-based Zurn Elkay provides clean water solutions that promote health, support healthy hydration, and conserve and protect natural resources. And its headquarters are a block from our own. Welcome back to the hub Where Water Works!
member news & opportunities
- News: Sudoc receives $4 million investment from water tech fund PureTerra Ventures.
- News: Xylem expands corporate venture capital investments to $50M, targeting water scarcity, quality and decarbonization.
- News: Zurn Elkay names new CFO, CAO.
- News: A. O. Smith to acquire Pureit, a leading water purification business in South Asia.
- News: Watts Water Technologies releases 2023 Sustainability Report.
- Event: The German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest, Inc. and Hannover Fairs Germany invite Wisconsin businesses to a breakfast at the Global Water Center on July 31 to learn how to drive revenue through international trade shows for your U.S. business.
- Event: The second annual Grundfos Industry Sustainability Summit will take place Sept. 16-18 in Lenexa, Kansas. The Water Council’s vice president of water stewardship, Matt Howard, will speak at the event.
