BookClub

The Water Innovation Townhall: Stories from the Tipping Point

The Water Innovation Townhall brings together three companies moving through the Water Technology Adoption (WATA) Model at strikingly different velocities:  Evove [http://evove.tech/], Cerafiltec [https://www.cerafiltec.com] and Vortech Water Solutions [https://vortechws.com]. In this conversation, their CEOs unpack how lighthouse projects evolve into market pull, why strategic partners accelerate trust, what real-world friction looks like, and how design-for-adoption choices shorten the path to scale. Dr. Paul O’Callaghan, Prof. Cees Buisman and Dr. Reinhard Hübner then connect these stories to the dynamics explored in The Dynamics of Water Innovation [https://www.bluetechresearch.com/events-media/book/], reflecting on velocity, reference data, and the market conditions that shape innovation decisions today. To go deeper or for bulk orders, you can explore the book here [https://www.bluetechresearch.com/events-media/book/], and download the BlueTech articles on Evove, Cerafiltec, and Vortech Water Solutions from here [https://www.bluetechresearch.com/#lighthouses-tippingpoints].  Watch the video recording from here [https://www.bluetechresearch.com/the-water-innovation-townhall-stories-from-the-tipping-point]. If you think we should feature another company in a future Townhall, you can nominate one on our website [https://www.bluetechresearch.com/#lighthouses-tippingpoints]. 💡 Got a suggestion for a book or author we should feature? Drop us a line at lily.chen@bluetechresearch.com [lily.chen@bluetechresearch.com] 📘 Paul’s book The Dynamics of Water Innovation is available at braveblue.world/book [https://www.braveblue.world/book]—Lily will personally make sure it wings its way to you. 🔗 Connect with Lily [https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamlily/] and Paul [https://www.linkedin.com/in/o2environmental/] on LinkedIn, and visit bluetechresearch.com [https://www.bluetechresearch.com/] and braveblue.world [https://www.braveblue.world/] to learn more.

Pilot: Why books, why now?

What if water had its own bookshelf? In this special pilot episode, Lily Chen joins Paul O’Callaghan to launch The BlueTech Book Club Podcast—a new space dedicated to books about water.  Not just another water podcast, this one’s for the curious and the committed: whether you’re knee-deep in water innovation or just dipping your toes in. Paul shares why books matter in shaping how we think about the sector, how stories move ideas forward, and what inspired him to take the mic.  We reflect on recent reads by David Sedlak and Peter Gleick, and yes—there’s even a nod to Paul’s guitar skills. 💡 Got a suggestion for a book or author we should feature? Drop us a line at lily.chen@bluetechresearch.com [lily.chen@bluetechresearch.com] 📘 Paul’s book The Dynamics of Water Innovation is available at braveblue.world/book [https://www.braveblue.world/book]—Lily will personally make sure it wings its way to you. 🔗 Connect with Lily [https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamlily/] and Paul [https://www.linkedin.com/in/o2environmental/] on LinkedIn, and visit bluetechresearch.com [https://www.bluetechresearch.com/] and braveblue.world [https://www.braveblue.world/] to learn more.

The Dynamics of Water Innovation: A Conversation with Dr. Reinhard Hübner, CEO, Skion Water

At BlueTech, innovation in the water sector is our favourite subject to discuss. Did you know that just under 10% of water technology innovations have a successful application and even then the impact is often disappointing. If you are wondering why this is the case than this is certainly the podcast episode for you! Towards the end of last year Paul O’Callaghan the CEO and founder of BlueTech Research was awarded his PhD  [https://www.bluetechresearch.com/tools/reports/the-dynamics-of-water-innovation-insights-into-the-rate-of-adoption-diffusion-and-success-of-innovative-water-technologies-globally/]at Wageningen University on the Dynamics of Water Innovation. The PhD aims to provide insights into the rate of adoption, diffusion and success of innovative water technologies globally. As well as discussing what makes certain innovations successful in his PhD, he also presented the water technology adoption model. Which can be used to monitor the spread of innovations. In this highly anticipated podcast episode, Paul will speak to one of the challenges of his PhD, Dr Reinhard Hübner, the CEO at Skin Water. In this episode Paul and Reinhard will unpack the different types of innovation, rates of success, adoption and give some very valuable advice to start ups in the water industry. 💡 Got a suggestion for a book or author we should feature? Drop us a line at lily.chen@bluetechresearch.com [lily.chen@bluetechresearch.com] 📘 Paul’s book The Dynamics of Water Innovation is available at braveblue.world/book [https://www.braveblue.world/book]—Lily will personally make sure it wings its way to you. 🔗 Connect with Lily [https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamlily/] and Paul [https://www.linkedin.com/in/o2environmental/] on LinkedIn, and visit bluetechresearch.com [https://www.bluetechresearch.com/] and braveblue.world [https://www.braveblue.world/] to learn more.

SDG6 – Clean Water & Sanitation – how innovation can lift us out of water poverty

We are on our third attempt since the 1980s to provide universal access to water. SDG 6 – achieving clean water & sanitation for all by 2030, was not on track even before the pandemic. According to the UN, the rate of progress needs to quadruple if we are to get there by 2030. One of the fundamental challenges we face is that the UN’s sustainable development goals use outdated assumptions of water availability; water scarcity is not adequately taken into account and if we were to roll out the established Victorian system of piped water to every home, to an extra 2 billion people will most certainly end up replicating all of its current problems. A paradigm shift is needed which focuses on innovations in technology, but also within business models: how can we realise the market opportunity of meeting SDG6? Paul O’Callaghan, CEO, BlueTech Research, recently conducted a thought leadership interview with David Lloyd Owen, author of ‘Global Water Funding: Innovation and Efficiency as Enablers for Safe, Secure and Affordable Supplies’ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) [https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030494537]. David began following the water sector in 1989, previously at BNP Paribas and Ecofin Limited and is a member of the Advisory Board for the Pictet Water Fund. He has been carrying out detailed surveys for clients on the current status and future role of PSP in water in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas since 1995. These have evolved into studies on specific aspects of privatization and the analysis of PSP’s evolution since the 1980s. Three major surveys on the practicalities of global water finance have been published between 2006 and 2020. The conversation sets the scene on our current progress towards SDG6 and asks the following questions: • What is the role of the private sector? • How do we make water affordable for people? • Are bottled water kiosks the “cell phone” of water infrastructure? • Rural vs. urban – which problem do you solve first? • What innovative practices and technologies for water and sanitation exist? How do they scale up? • Funding vs. the funding gap – how much money have we spent and how much more money is required BlueTech will be producing a report in the near future looking at both how alternative business models will shape the water industry between now and 2030, and where the business opportunities are in addressing SDG6. We believe it to be one the most significant market opportunities in the water sector so far. This article also takes a look at how nations can be lifted out of water poverty through water innovations.  [https://www.bluetechresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/BlueTech-Article_SDG-6-Goals_2021_WEB.pdf] 💡 Got a suggestion for a book or author we should feature? Drop us a line at lily.chen@bluetechresearch.com [lily.chen@bluetechresearch.com] 📘 Paul’s book The Dynamics of Water Innovation is available at braveblue.world/book [https://www.braveblue.world/book]—Lily will personally make sure it wings its way to you. 🔗 Connect with Lily [https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamlily/] and Paul [https://www.linkedin.com/in/o2environmental/] on LinkedIn, and visit bluetechresearch.com [https://www.bluetechresearch.com/] and braveblue.world [https://www.braveblue.world/] to learn more.

David Sedlak – Water 4.0: The Past, Present, and Future of the World's Most Vital Resource

David Sedlak is the Plato Malozemoff Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also the Co-Director of the Berkeley Water Center and Deputy Director of the NSF engineering research center for Reinventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt). He has over 25 years of research experience studying water quality and urban water systems. He has served on the USEPA’s Science Advisory Board for Drinking Water as well as the State of California’s Expert Advisory Panel for Direct Potable Water Reuse. He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and recipient of numerous awards including the Paul Busch Award for Innovation in Applied Water Quality Research and the Clarke Prize for Excellence in Water Research. Sedlak is the author of Water 4.0: The Past, Present and Future of the World’s Most Vital Resource [https://www.amazon.com/Water-4-0-Present-Future-Resource/dp/0300212674/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1OJIBZHWRSREB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.I68IFPNt8BzhlAmKNupfSTtvEwEVC2OYStZCEN3bztO5dPy33sebHO-XROd_QtFChjk4mN5t7uwyuUtcerHGVykrY5DlZFdoUnAIlPyryetlgpCGVxkVvhDyyw5pdle_lpPZgW1NncuMmTUnFFsoFA.4ZgFu0n8kc3brVN_gIR7F5ivbY2HUvWSuQZFPOjq3f8&dib_tag=se&keywords=david+sedlak&qid=1744634191&s=digital-text&sprefix=david+sedlak%2Cdigital-text%2C193&sr=1-2-catcorr] and serves as editor-in-chief of the ACS journal, Environmental Science & Technology. 💡 Got a suggestion for a book or author we should feature? Drop us a line at lily.chen@bluetechresearch.com [lily.chen@bluetechresearch.com] 📘 Paul’s book The Dynamics of Water Innovation is available at braveblue.world/book [https://www.braveblue.world/book]—Lily will personally make sure it wings its way to you. 🔗 Connect with Lily [https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamlily/] and Paul [https://www.linkedin.com/in/o2environmental/] on LinkedIn, and visit bluetechresearch.com [https://www.bluetechresearch.com/] and braveblue.world [https://www.braveblue.world/] to learn more.