From 19 to 22 September the global water technology sector gathered in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, the capital of water technology. As inspirational places go European Water Technology Week certainly held a spot right up there. The varied programme drew an audience from around the globe. Leeuwarden, hospitable as ever provided a great setting to meet up, renew contacts, exchange knowledge, inspire and be inspired.
EWTW focused on all aspects of water technology from science to business, just like the ecosystem at the WaterCampus. The opening ceremony featured public figures like Mark Harbers, Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Thecla Bodewes, Manuela Geleng, Director for Skills at the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion and Sybrand Buma, mayor of the capital of water technology Leeuwarden. Mark Harbers spoke amongst others about the current state of affairs: ‘It used to be about keeping dry feet, now it is about savoring every drop’
During the ‘search for accelerated implementation of innovations session’, Renรฉ Buck from BCI Global, certified as one of America’s ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐น๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐บ๐ by the prestigious business magazine Forbes, captivated the audience with his insights, like the five golden rules for international co-operation, a focus action plan, concentrate on companies with an internationale drive, develop trust, create platforms for all stakeholders, seek financial support.
Water Alliance director Hein Molenkamp and co-host Tom Freyberg further dived into the importance of connecting global water tech hubs and how alliances are formed, the first panel discussion featured MOH Tiing Liang, PUB Singapore, Shiaoxian Zhang, Jiangsu Cluster China, Alan Shapiro, WaterNext Vancouver, BC, Canada and Samantha Martin, Cleveland Water Alliance Ohio.
One of the many of highlights of the Monday was the WIS Award specifically the audience award, worth โฌ2.500 marketing support. As the Grand Finale was on day 3 with a professional jury, the Monday saw the most important jury of them all cast a vote, the audience.
In the morning Cees Buisman from Wetsus talked about innovation, โwhen youโve havenโt been ridiculed, you are not innovatingโ. Opening statements from Tom Freyberg and Jelmer Hobma further set the tone for the day. As one of the great inventors Edison told, โthereโs a way to do it better, find it.โ It sounds so easy, but innovators know, success isnโt easy. Edison failed more than a thousand times, still kept going, be it on perseverance and for the love for his work. The eight innovators sat on the front row of the stage know what that is like, as they also found a way to do it better.
After a digital voting format had unexpected adverse results, voting was done by an old-school show of hands, as intended just for the audience present. Sometimes the old ways are still the best. In the end Joost Paques from Paques Biomaterials, with the slogan natureโs solution to plastic pollution won, and was awarded the cheque by Water Alliance director Hein Molenkamp. In the end Mr Paques was not the only winner as the audience got their moneyโs worth of entertainment.
On day 2 of ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ป๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ, spirits remained high and the energy continued to flow with 12 parallel sessions and two keynotes by dr. Lan Wang-Erlandsson and prof.dr. Anita Hardon, EWTW catered to diverse interests from science to business, with sessions like ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ & ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด and ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
Knowledge gathering was just a fraction of the EWTW programme, this became clear when you took a peek at the exhibition floor. With more than 50 exhibitors, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ was ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐, networking by individuals, between clusters, water tech companies and more. Also ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฎ, the official EWTW side event, gathers more than 100 participants from 30 countries. As a matchmaking event it provides the perfect setting for relevant one-on-one meetings, not just physically at EWTW but also continuing online.
Ruth McNeil: ‘I met with Patryk Wรณjtowicz from the Finish water cluster Kuopio Water Cluster, we had a great conversation, we talked about their Water Lab and the possibility of them joining the Water Test Network in 2023′
Listening to conversations, WaterMatch was a fruitful place where new collaborations are discussed and possible alliances are formed. The perfect way to end the day was of course to the visit exhibition floor for a good conversation accompanied by a few typical Dutch snacks and drinks.
Also on the second day Foresight, Canadaโs cleantech accelerator, signed a historic international partnership with Water Alliance, to stimulate the growth of both the Canadian and Dutch water innovation ecosystems.
Foresight is excited to be collaborating with Water Alliance to expand their waterNEXT network in Canada, accelerating the commercialization and adoption of Canadian solutions for global water challenges. The new partnership will strengthen trade connections between Canada and the Netherlands, while leveraging the networks and expertise of the organizations to support water technology companies from both countries in securing business and partnerships.
Day 3 of EWTW brought forth the latest and greatest from the Netherlands as 8 ๐๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ faced off for the ๐ช๐๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ. Who took home the grand prize of โฌ10.000? The nominees did their utmost to convince the jury. Cees Buisman and the other jury members, Riksta Zwart, Cora Uijterlinde and Willem Buijs had a hard task choosing between these pioneering companies. The hosting of the Award was done by Agnes Dirksen and Harro Brons, with an Oscar like ceremony including pitches and a physical award.
In the end there could only be one: Fersol from Meppel based Ferr-Tech, a member of Water Alliance, won the award with its innovative product Ferrate(VI). Co-owner Judith le Fรจvre accepted the glass water drop trophy from jury chairman Cees Buisman amidst loud applause.
Discover the other nominees:
- Rolapac โ Rolapac Fat layer removal system โ Laurens Verberne
- Ce-Line โ Measurement tool Celine โ Wilco Dijkstra
- Purgatoria โ Icabus โ Frans Durieux
- Q-Blue โ Q-Blue MVII โ Harry Muller
- Jotem โ BluElephant โ Roy Rosink
- Hulo – Robbert Lodewijks
The fourth and final day of ๐๐ช๐ง๐ช was definitely a change of pace. It offered a unique opportunity to discover how diverse Dutch water tech is, via special bus tours organized by Water Alliance, participants got a first-hand experience what and how water technology ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐.
Starting at WaterCampus Leeuwarden, the physical core of the Dutch water technology sector, the visits go to the various facilities, such as the Water Application Centre (WAC) and Wetsus research facilities providing a clear view of the unique Dutch ecosystem, the big ambitions and their enthusiastic staff. Just like a river, the tours then branched off in different directions with a Resource Recovery, Water & Energy and Water & Circular Economy variation.
With visits to a WWTP, REDstack BV, Blue energy technology at the De Afsluitdijk, producing electricity from advanced mixing of salt and fresh water, UNESCO Werelderfgoed Ir. D. F. Woudagemaal, residential district Water Schoon Sneek, a local soccer club which uses water twice via Hydraloop systems, the incubator BioBizz Hub in Balk, WaterLab Circular Water , the Floriade Expo 2022, a horticultural exhibition and โCamp & Surf Markermeer’ the tours provide a varied thematic approach that hit the right spot.
EWTW facts and figures:
๐ง 1 congress
๐ง 1 exhibition floor
๐ง 3 awards
๐ง 3 days
๐ง 5 plenary sessions
๐ง 15 clusters
๐ง 26 parallel sessions
๐ง 31 nationalities
๐ง 110 international speakers
๐ง 500+ visitors per day
๐ง countless lasting connections
What a week, it’s hard to account everything that went on, for an impression you can best view the after movie. We hope to welcome you during the next edition of EWTW, from 23-26 September in 2024!