By Kevin Westerling@KevinOnWater Water Online ‘They say necessity is the mother of invention. Perhaps that’s why water and wastewater innovation is thriving — the needs have overwhelmed the status quo. Growing populations demand increasing levels of water supply and treatment, but infrastructure funding and renewal often lags behind, creating a funding gap in the hundreds of billions in the United States alone. Technology and innovation can help narrow that gap, however, by offering more efficient, effective, and economical alternatives to conventional methods.
As one who champions water innovation and covers it daily, I was excited to see which companies would be named to the sixth annual Global Cleantech 100, announced in October. Nearly 6,000 private companies were considered by a panel of 84 business and finance experts. The panel was tasked with identifying for-profit companies that are most likely to have a significant impact in the next five to 10 years. Water and wastewater was directly represented by 12 of the 100, and another company was so closely tied to our industry that I would be remiss not to mention them. If you missed the full report, or simply want the CliffsNotes version for water/wastewater, you’re in luck — the 13 are compiled below…’