You may have followed the discussions at the Davos World Economic Forum recently. Much of this of course is high level politicking, but it can signpost major trends in the general economy. A major theme this year was picked out in the report: The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it means, how to respond. What are […]
The recent CBS 60 Minutes documentary, The Cleantech Crash, was an apocryphal tale of wasted government funding and failed companies, and left one feeling sorry for a much maligned Vinod Khosla, deemed to be a prime architect behind the ‘failed cleantech revolution’. Khosla has rallied with a strong and stirring rebuttal in open letter to CBS. Cleantech, (if narrowly […]
There is a commonly held view among industry observers that “water is undervalued” and “water is underpriced”. Gloomy venture capitalists frequently cite the fact that “water is underpriced” as having the effect of hindering innovation and adoption of new technologies in the water sector (… and, incidentally of course, the ability to make good returns […]
I recently read an article by Chris Gasson of Global Water Intelligence which was thought-provoking and insightful. The article addressed a number of issues surrounding water technology company acquisitions and raised a question regarding what problems companies are looking to solve through these acquisitions. In my experience advising large water companies’ strategic acquisitions activity, I have identified […]
Japan has the 3rd largest economy in the world and is the 4th largest exporter. They produced prominent technological advancements, from reliable and fuel efficient cars to flat screen televisions. Now, Japan is taking interest in water technology markets and innovative water companies. Napoleon said, “Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake […]
For anyone involved in water desalination, the following quote from John F. Kennedy will be very familiar: “If we could produce fresh water from salt water at a low cost, that would indeed be a great service to humanity, and would dwarf any other scientific accomplishment.” – President John F. Kennedy, 1962 In many ways, we […]
The environmental issues surrounding hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” and the produced water associated with it has become a subject of intense debate within the United States as well as other parts of the world (e.g. the recent fracking Ban in France). This webinar will go beyond the media buzz by bringing together experts in the […]
Turning whey from dairy wastewater into alcohol and a revenue stream was the subject of a recent presentation by Paul O’Callaghan CEO of O2 Environmental. This presentation was for Water Tech Week February 2011 in San Jose, California, USA and outlines, by way of a case study, how it is possible to save money and actually […]
Everywhere you look people are trying to do more with less. Reduce costs, increase efficiency, reduce energy use, recover resources. There are strong economic drivers to do all of these things, they also happen to be sustainable. Last Thursday (July 22nd 2010) I moderated the first in the BlueTech Tracker(TM) Webinar series: Mineral & Resource […]
Canadian firm, Saltworks Technologies, just came out of stealth in relation to their desalination technology, which they claim reduce the electrical energy required for desalination by over 70%. They report they can produce 1m3 of water with 1kW hour of electrical energy, compared to the 3.7kWhr per m3, which is what is currently achievable using […]
There was much furore recently surrounding the story ‘Joule Biotech comes out of stealth with sun-powered biofuel’.The premise is that the technology can take solar energy and use it to convert carbon dioxide directly into fuel. A one stop-shop to soak up carbon dioxide and produce a biofuel.Having dug into it a little, the conclusion […]
‘Any plan to switch from gasoline to electricity or biofuels is a strategic decision to switch our dependence from foreign oil to domestic water’. So says Dr. Michael Webber of the University of Texas at Austin in an interview with Steven Lacey on the Inside Renewable Energy Podcast this week. Webber comments on the links […]
‘Growing world population will cause a “perfect storm” of food, energy and water shortages by 2030’. That is what a UK Government chief scientist told attendees at the Sustainable Development conference in London yesterday. Prof. Beddington told the group that demand for food and energy will jump 50% by 2030 and for fresh water by […]
First there was “Peak Oil’, then there was talk of ‘Peak Water’, but ‘Peak Phosphorus’, may trump them all as a sustainability issue without rival. Fact: Phosphorus is a non-renewable resource for which there is no substitute. Phosphorus is the currency of energy in every living cell. Our ability to provide enough food to feed […]
There is a growing awareness that there are two convergent crises facing the world: Energy and Water. Scientific Amercican just launced a dedicated environmental publication this month, Earth 3.0 and the cover story? … ‘Energy Vs Water’. The article explores the dichotomy between the fact that we need energy to produce water and we need […]
With the recent turmoil in the markets, optimism has been a commodity in short supply and good investment opportunities as scarce as hens teeth; though this may be changing if you believe Warren Buffets ‘buy now’ call. In the midst of this, two new water based investment funds were recently launched. On September 30, 2008, […]
How ‘green’ is your lawn? The City of Fresno in California think’s not very ‘green’ at all and is proposing to ‘buy back’ lawns from home owners in an effort to stop people pouring the States’ precious water resources all over them. This is part of an Urban Water Management Plan approved by the Fresno […]
I was contacted last week by a journalist doing a story on ‘the future of water’. When I asked what the publication was, I was told it was for Esquire. Needless to say I was only too glad to help, – it’s not often I have the opportunity to have my name in print alongside […]
The hydrogen economy is heralded in certain quarters as the green alternative to oil as an energy carrier. At present the vast majority of hydrogen generated is generated from natural gas. So right now a hydrogen fuel cell car, is most likely still ultimately reliant on a fossil fuel source, natural gas, to provide the […]
With seawater covering seventy-one per cent of the Earth’s surface, at an average depth of four kilometers, and another 1,000,000,000,000,000 liters of water in the first kilometer alone of the earth’ atmosphere, water could hardly be described as a rare element. Its more a case of ‘water water everywhere and not a drop to drink‘. […]