Thirteen companies will participate in the Singapore-based water accelerator and market access program to tackle the region’s water and wastewater challenges.
The pressures facing many communities on the frontlines of the global water and climate crisis across Asia are spurring bold, new commitments to accelerate the uptake of innovation. India has committed to meeting 20 per cent of overall water demand in cities through wastewater reuse.
Singapore is operating one of the world’s first 100 per cent green waterworks systems using floating solar farms. Indonesia is rolling out its first digital flood management system in Jakarta this year.
In response to these incentives and opportunities, the quality and diversity of innovators committed to solving the region’s water challenges is increasing. Imagine H2O Asia Cohort 4 was no exception. Over 100 applicants, two-thirds of which are based in Asia, applied to the Singapore-based accelerator and market access program.
Several second or third-time water startup founders joined an equal number of founders who were entering the water sector for the first time. As the spotlight turns to COP27, more water entrepreneurs than ever before referred to themselves as a climate startup.
Spanning six different countries – from Spain to the Philippines to Timor Leste – the 13 companies selected for Cohort 4 this year are tackling a range of shared challenges across Asia-Pacific including flood prediction, septic tank cleaning, wastewater treatment process efficiency and more.
Participating companies will benefit from startup development, market access, and an expanded pool of pilot funding resources over the next twelve months. In addition, as a lifecycle partner, all Cohort 4 companies will then join a growing alumni network of 175 startups which continue to receive support from Imagine H2O to help deploy and scale their solutions.
Led by Imagine H2O, Imagine H2O Asia is supported by Founding Partner Enterprise Singapore as well as Veolia, Xylem, Kurita, Kubota, PUB, SWA, World Bank and ADB.
Meet our 13 finalists:
Non-Revenue Water and Leak Detection
Teredo Analytics (Singapore)
Event-based anomaly detection system using acoustic monitoring technology, with applications in pipeline inspection as well as water plant machinery to identify leaks and machinery faults. Four ongoing projects in Singapore, with approximately 100k litres of water saved and $280k savings from equipment monitoring and accident prevention.
Sanitation
Solinas Integrity (India)
Suite of robotic solutions in the pipeline and sanitation industry which include semi-automated septic tank cleaning robots that homogenise hard sludge to create a pumpable slurry to minimise human interaction with waste. System can reach tank depths between 5-7m, and reduce slurry particle size to 40-50mm. Other solutions offerings include water leak reduction and pipeline condition monitoring.
Process Optimisation
Createch 360 (Spain)
Advanced process control solutions that optimises processes in treatment plants and ensures effluent quality compliance throughout the plant’s lifecycle. Process intelligence platform includes self-customisation features and is hosted locally onsite using a PC server. Up to 50 per cent in aeration energy savings, and up to 40 per cent reduction in chemical use. 150+ global installations, with 9 projects in Asia over the last two years.
Water & Wastewater Treatment
Power & Water (UK)
Patented, modularised sono-electrochemical treatment process that combines the power of ultrasound and electrolysis to directly address passivation and reduce energy consumption, while demonstrating lower costs than liquid chemicals for electro-coagulation. Secured commercial contracts across the municipal and industrial sector including O&G, construction and aquaculture in the UK. Ongoing projects in carbon capture through AOP with utilities in Asia and the US.
H2MO (Singapore)
Biomimetic hollowfibre RO membranes (without Aquaporin) that uses Bio-Programmable Membrane (BPM) technology to drastically increase throughput by 3x, meet effluent quality and improve fouling resistance. Multiple pilots in Singapore demonstrated 50 per cent savings in energy consumption and over 80 per cent reduction in chemical cleaning from reduced maintenance requirements.
SideStroem (Singapore)
Novel nanofiltration-type forward osmosis membrane technology demonstrating superior water flux and salt extraction efficiency compared to conventional FO membranes. Looking to scale technology for industrial production with a focus in textile, tannery and fermentation industries.
Digitizing Operations
Similie (Timor Leste)
End-to-end solution that digitises rural water management systems by deploying sensors, gathering data on water flow, levels, quality and more, and generating insights for municipalities to monitor community water resources and supply. Two ongoing projects in Timor Leste.
TeamSolve (Singapore)
Digital knowledge companion that integrates institutional SOPs, workforce knowledge and field reports to generate problem-solving insights during daily operations, incident troubleshooting and management through a conversational AI platform.
WeavAir (Singapore)
Predictive solution for operations and management teams looking to reduce energy in buildings and facilities through the holistic tracking, diagnosis and detection of anomalies using data.
Climate Resilience & Adaptation
Komunidad (Philippines)
Climate risk decision support tool that integrates multiple weather data sets with local environmental data to generate precise, customisable and community-specific insights and alarms for improved climate adaptation and resilience. Multiple projects in Philippines and India working with local governments for disaster risk management, as well as across a range of sectors including energy, agriculture, transport and banks.
Ekatvam Innovations (India)
Community-level water governance tool that gathers and integrates locally-gathered data on groundwater levels, water-intensity of crops and satellite imagery to inform climate adaptation strategy for NGO-led projects in villages across India.
Ossus Biorenewables (India)
Combined electrical and biological process in a novel, single reactor producing green hydrogen directly on-site using waste carbon from effluents or wastewater. Reactors are autonomously controlled, easily retrofittable into existing plants and can be scaled up in capacity. Applications in steel, O&G, chemical and textile industries. Pilot set up in India with a steel manufacturer recycled 97 per cent of effluents and produced 30 kg of hydrogen gas from 6000L of effluents per day.
Water Quality Monitoring
Aprisium (Singapore)
IOT-enabled electrochemical sensors for on-site contaminant profiling and early-warning detection and insights for industries. Currently available to profile heavy metals and VOCs with plans to increase profiling suite and capabilities.
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