Join the webinar on DESSIN ESS Evaluation Framework: An innovative methodology for investments in the water sector
The European research project DESSIN is hosting a webinar on ‘DESSIN ESS Evaluation Framework: an innovative methodology for investments in the water sector’ on Thursday 15th of September at 14h00pm CEST. DESSIN project has developed a structured approach to measure changes in ecosystems services (the benefits humans obtain from ecosystems). With it, the project is bringing the concept of ecosystem services from theory to practice and using it to boost innovation in the water sector. The recently created “DESSIN ESS Evaluation Framework” supports decision-making and promotes the uptake of innovative solutions to water quality and water scarcity challenges in urban areas. It will also facilitate the integration of the ecosystem services concept into EU Water Framework Directive implementation. The framework helps its users to evaluate the effects that innovative solutions (whether technical or management measures) have on freshwater ecosystems and their services. It is targeted at decision-makers and technology developers as a practical way to integrate the ecosystem services concept into their day-to-day decision-making process.
The framework and a practical example of its application will be presented by Gerardo Anzaldúa (Ecologic Institute), who led the working group developing the framework, and Nadine Gerner (Emschergenossenschaft), who led the application of the framework on three case study sites. The webinar will include an ample Q&A session with an extended group of members from the framework development team.
Deadline to register: Tuesday 13th September 2016
Read more about the framework
Download the framework documents
Read MoreApply for an EU Innovation deal NOW!
The call for Expressions of Interest focused on Innovation Deals for a Circular Economy will be open until 15 September 2016. Any innovator or group of innovators seeking to introduce a circular economy-related product or service to the market can apply to participate in an Innovation Deal by setting out the regulatory obstacles they are struggling to overcome.
The Commission will rank the proposals based on clearly defined criteria and will select up to five Expressions of Interest to become Innovation Deals. The implementation of the selected deals will start in January 2017. The Commission does not provide any funding for the implementation of these projects, which are based on a practical cooperation model.
For more information, please visit the EIP on Water website.
Read MoreWater Innovation Europe 2016: A resounding success!
Water Innovation Europe 2016: ‘Water-Smart! European Solutions for a smart water society’
Over three days, Water Innovation Europe 2016 attracted more than 200 participants from all around Europe. The 2016 edition of WssTP annual stakeholder conference ‘Water-Smart! European Solutions for a Smart Water Society’ was held with great success from the 21st to 23rd of June in Brussels at the Diamant Conference Centre in Brussels.
Thirty distinguished speakers from all the aspects of the European water sector contributed to the agenda of Water Innovation Europe 2016 conference that revolved around four key areas:
- Water on the interface between the physical and digital world
- Water-energy-food nexus in practice
- The value of Water
- Water for a sustainable society
Water Innovation Europe conference, once again, provided participants with a platform to have stimulating discussions, share data, generate ideas and initiate collaborations. We would like to warmly thank all our speakers and attendees, whose active participation and support made our conference a success! The biggest applause goes finally to them!
Download the conference’s presentations!
New WssTP Water Vision 2030
Carlos Moedas, EU commissioner for Research, Innovation, and Science was present at WIE2016 to deliver his keynote speech the first day of our conference. Tomas Michel, WssTP President seized this opportunity to hand over the first copy of WssTP Water Vision 2030 ‘The Value of Water: Towards a Future proof model for a European water-smart society’ to Commissioner Moedas. Moedas welcomed WssTP’s work, stating:
‘I am very happy to be here today and to have received your Water Vision. I’m in a room full of conscious people and that fills me with hope for our future.’
To read the whole speech of Commissioner Moedas, please click here. More information about the new WssTP Vision and SIRA(Strategic Innovation Research Agenda) will be circulated soon.
Download WssTP Water Vision 2030(Preprint version)!
WssTP Water Innovation SME Awards 2016
The third edition of WssTP Water Innovation SMEs Awards was held the first day of WIE 2016 and announced as winners the 4 following SMEs:
- Akvola Technologies from Germany
- Aqua-Q from Sweden
- Arvia from the UK
- WINGS ICT Solutions from Greece
The innovations of the 4 winners were identified, as the best practices in their field of application with high market potential. The winning SMEs have got 2 years free WssTP membership, advertisement through WssTP website and social media, as well as a trophy. Learn more!
Water Innovation Europe 2016: Pre-conference
On 21st of June, the pre-conference programme of WIE2016 opened with WssTP SIRA Workshop and WssTP Working Groups meetings. Fifteen Working Groups held their sessions from 12h30 to 16h30pm. In parallel, a poster session was featured at the main area of the event, in which participants could find detailed information about the themes of each Working Group, its consistency and its deliverables so far.
The pre-conference programme continued with a session dedicated to successful FP7/Horizon2020 projects, which demonstrated how their results will provide concrete solutions for solving societal challenges. The presenting projects of this year’s edition were: WatERP, ENERWAG, Low Carbon Business Action in Mexico, SafeWater, INAPRO, ZELDA, WIDEST and The 8th City.
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Join us at LIFE ZELDA Open Day on 21st of June!
The LIFE Zelda project is holding its first Open Day back to back to Water Innovation Europe 2016 conference and invites you to join us on 21st of June from 10am to 12h30pm at the Diamant Centre in Brussels.
After 3 years of intensive work, it’s time for ZELDA Project to open its gates and share updates about its activities and progress. This Open day will be an opportunity for stakeholders from all the aspects of the European water sector to get informed about the project’s outcomes and the beneficial impact of its innovative technology on the society and the environment. Participants are welcome to give their input and share their views on the project’s next steps. ZELDA Open Day will be hosted in the context of WssTP annual stakeholder conference, happening from the 21st to 23rd of June in Brussels.
Learn, engage and join us! Look forward to welcoming you there!
To register, please click here. To learn more about ZELDA project, please visit the project’s website.
For more information about the Open Day, please contact Maria Mirachtsi.
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Towards the first call for proposals: CBCMed launches partner search and project ideas tool
With its first call for proposals expected to be launched by the end of the year, the Cross Border Cooperation programme in the Mediterranean Basin (CBCMed) has launched an online tool to help share project ideas and find partners.
The aim of this tool is to build a Mediterranean community in order to facilitate setting up Euro-Mediterranean partnerships and developing quality projects.
The first call for proposals of the ENI CBC Med Programme will address standard projects and be open to the 4 thematic objectives and 11 priorities of the Programme. Allocated budget is €84.6 million.
The ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme 2014-2020 is a multilateral cross-border cooperation programme funded by the European Union under the European Neighbourhood Instrument. It aims at reinforcing cooperation between the EU and partner countries’ regions located along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. (EU Neighbourhood Info).
For more information, please visit CBC MED’s website
Read MorePPI Public Procurer Survey
The European Commission is collecting data from key public procurers with potential interest in procuring new innovative solutions in the coming years. The results will help the EC to prioritise these needs in the upcoming years, in view of allocating funding for calls under the next Horizon 2020 Work Programme (2018 – 2020).
A total budget of circa €130 million is available under different 2016-17 Horizon 2020 Work Programmes (see the calls overview) to support groups of procurers that join forces to implement joint cross-border Pre-Commercial Procurements (PCP) or Public Procurements for Innovative Solutions (PPI).
It takes 5 minutes to fill in this survey to provide EAFIP some general information about your potential interest in innovation procurement in the following years. The information collected in this survey will only be used for the purpose of this initiative. Start the survey.
Read MoreSANSOX Ltd was selected to EU gateway
WssTP member and double-winner of the WssTP Water Innovation SMEs Awards, SansOx Ltd has been selected to participate in the EU Gateway | Business Avenues Environment and Water Technologies Business Mission, scheduled to take place in Singapore and Vietnam from 11-15 July 2016.
SansOx Ltd will be one of 38 companies from across the EU, which have the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of dynamic markets and establish business contacts with local companies via the Exhibition Days and business meetings in Singapore and Vietnam.
Moreover, in this program selected European companies have the opportunity to participate in up to three Business Missions to Korea, South East Asia and China for a combined total of five business missions. Each mission accommodates up to 50 European companies. SansOx will be one of those.
This was most welcome news for us, since it grants us a great chance of getting potential contacts and expanded visibility in this area, which will probably become important for SansOx. We have already gained useful contacts in the area, so we hope this will open more doors for business success there, says Mikael Seppälä, the Managing Director of SansOx Ltd.
For more information about SansOx, please visit its website.
Read MoreEuropean Commission invests €8.7 million in 189 innovative businesses
The European Commission has today selected 189 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 26 countries for a total of €8.7 million of funding under the latest round of the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument. The funding – €50,000 per recipient – will finance feasibility studies for new products.
The SMEs can also ask for up to three days of free business coaching. Among the projects receiving funding are a technology to turn residue from the wheat milling process into biodegradable packaging, a robotic inspection and cleaning system for solar panels, a low energy technology to capture CO2 from gasses, and a cost-reducing train maintenance system for early detection of wheel defects.
Since the launch of the programme on 1 January 2014, 1473 SMEs have been selected under Phase 1 of the SME Instrument. The SME instrument is implemented through one continuously open call with cut-offs four times a year. The funding is €50,000 under Phase 1 and up to €2,5 million under Phase 2. The next cut-off for Phase 1 is 3 May 2016.
For more information, please visit the EC’s webpage.
Read MoreWssTP SME AWARDS 2016
WssTP invites all European SMEs to submit their innovative breakthrough solutions or technologies for the 3rd edition of WssTP Water Innovation SME Awards. WssTP Water Innovation SME Awards will take place during WssTP annual stakeholder conference, Water Innovation Europe 2016, happening from 21 to 23 June 2016 in Brussels.
In the context of WIE2016, the top ten applicants will have the chance to present their innovations during the ‘Innovation and Technology Pitches’ session, just before the keynote speech of EU Commissioner for Research and Innovation Carlos Moedas on the first day of the conference. A speed dating session will follow, in which all applicants will have a table to discuss their innovations with other participants.
The four winning applications will be the ones characterized as best practices with high market potential in their field of application.
[message_box title=”” color=”blue”] WssTP Water Innovation SME Awards are helping companies to sell and promote their innovation. Handed out by a respected and widely appreciated association gives more value to the innovation. These awards are proof to all stakeholders on the market that the innovation is a game changer that should be respected and taken seriously.
SansOx Oy, Finland
Winner of WssTP Water Innovation SME Awards 2014 & 2015
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Find out more details about the Awards
APPLY NOW! Entries will stay open until 1st of May 2016!
Read MoreDeloitte Water Tight 2.0: The top trends in the global water sector
The second edition of Water Tight is now available. The central theme of this edition is innovation. It is about how utilities and industries explore new ways to tackle supply-side, demand-side, regulatory or business-related challenges. The report focuses on the water sector from a global perspective, with country specific examples that provide a view of how some trends could work in a local setting.
Water scarcity, changing demographics and operational efficiency are top issues for the global water sector, which are amplified by the unpredictable impact of climate change. Demand for water continues to rise, declining water quality has grown to be a global concern, water loss through leakage continues to prove a major issue both in the developed and developing world, and the long-term impact of climate change is unpredictable which makes planning difficult.
Ultimately, the world needs flexible and resilient water systems that anticipate and monitor changes in circumstances. Sustainable management techniques need to be implemented to protect water cycles and reduce the impact of human activity on them. These need to go hand-in-hand with optimizing water and wastewater provision and consumption, and will require closer collaboration between utilities, users and regulators to incentivize water conservation, reuse and recycling.
Trends this year include:
- The value of water
- The value of data
- The power of the customer
- The need for operational efficiency
- The potential of technology
- The future of regulation
- New financing methods
You can find more information here.
To download the full report, click here.
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