During the 20th century, high tech proved to be an enormous source for economic growth. Venture-funded start-ups like Intel, Juniper Networks and Amazon have grown to drive 17% of GNP in the US, and are responsible for similar chunks of economies in countries like Israel.
Innovations like the telephone, fax and personal computer provide tremendous direct benefits. When they were adopted, they redefined the cost structure of business and changed the nature of many industries. Armies of secretaries typed dictation in the 1950s, but today most executives type their own correspondence, primarily via email. They hold staff meetings by cell phone with teams around the world.
The world’s leading corporations will need similar “high tech” innovation to address the water resource challenges they will face over the next few years.
We need to redesign how we manage water resources to address the water scarcity, environmental decay and infrastructural breakdown that we are encountering worldwide.
The purpose of the Artemis Top 50 is to identify the technologies that can provide a magnitude of savings by managing water resources. For example:
- Through onsite water reclaim, a shopping center can save 80-90% of its drinking water and 85% of the energy used to treat and bring that water to its site.
- Or, microbial fuel cells can produce electricity from sewage and power a sewage treatment plan.
Artemis Water Strategy’s experience with water companies world-wide shows us that the innovation necessary to solve major water challenges is already available today. The challenge is getting those products to market.
The Artemis Project Top 50 competition selects companies that have both the most promising technology and the most promising teams capable of bringing their products to market. We also consider the urgency of the market demand for each company’s specific solution.
Each of the 50 companies on the Top 50 illustrate another aspect of the potential role of innovative technology in water management, and the wave of business opportunity that will follow.