The Water Test Network project will establish a transnational network of testing facilities which can be used by SMEs in North-West Europe (NWE) to test, demonstrate and develop new products for the water sector. In this way, new innovations will be developed and it will accelerate the time to market.
SMEs
In a competitive global water market, pre-commercial testing is difficult and costly at operational scale and investors are reluctant to invest in unproven technology. This way it can take 15-20 years to bring new technology to the market. To increase market opportunities in this fast growing sector, Water Test Network (formerly named ‘LL4WIDE’) will help SMEs from across NWE to test their innovative water technologies at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5-8. This will be achieved by creating a transnational network of operational scale demonstrator sites in UK, FR, DE, NL and BE, which will offer a range of water types, clean and waste water, in rural and urban settings, for specialist applications such as pharma or agricultural.
By working closely with SMEs, offering them an integrated package of support and linking them to the best possible site for their needs, validation and commercialisation of near to market water solutions will be accelerated, providing an investor ready pipeline of new products and processes.
Business Model
The change the project will deliver is to accelerate the time to market, increase the proportion of products reaching the market, and supporting innovative technologies through the complex processes of verification and validation, which create particular pressures in the water sector. At least 120 SMEs will be supported by testing 90 new technologies, of which 30 will be brought to the market by the SMEs. In the long term, the network will remain in place after the project lifetime. A business model will be developed to continue collaboration between partners and provide access to the network of test facilities for SMEs on a paid-for basis after the project.
Questions or more information about the project?
Please contact Stefan Bergsma, s.bergsma@wateralliance.nl or on +31 (0) 6-11101240
Visit our website www.nweurope.eu/water-test-network and follow us on Twitter: WaterNetwork_EU
