InnoWise Scale pitching event - EIT Climate-KIC

23-11-2022

Is the world ready to go fully water-circular by 2050?

This is the debate question for the EIT Climate-KIC pitching event, co-organised with Athena RC. The session will take place as part of a series of pitching competitions within the framework of the InnoWise Scale activities. The series Road to 2030: Future circular water-cycle perspectives will be taking place online between the 22 and the 30 of November 2022.

In the report ‘Point on the Circular Water 2050 horizon’, the water sector set itself a set of circular objectives such as going fully circular by 2050. But is the system ready to take that challenge? Which are the barriers that must be overcome? Following the challenge presented by DEYAPH – the problem holder of the InnoWise Scale Climate KIC competition -, the panellists will discuss how realistic that objective is.

Meet the participants:

The problem holder: DEYAPH

The Greek Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Company of Pylaia – Hortiati (DEYAPH) is responsible for water supply, wastewater treatment and sewerage services in the greatest Thessaloniki area. The main challenges they face are water sustainability; preservation of water resources; water loss minimization and water safety in the supply chain production, transfer, and distribution.

The solution providers:

SatGeo (Bulgaria)
Watershed Monitoring (France)
SAnChip (Italy)
Ablute (Portugal)
Aegir (France)
Aonchip (Spain)
SpaceCrops (Hungary)

The panellists:

Gonzalo Delacámara, IE University: Gonzalo is a senior academic (23 years of experience) and international expert on natural resources economics, with emphasis on the link between water and social and economic development within a context of climate change adaptation
Dubravka Skunca, GO Project, European Regional Development Fund & Region Skåne: Dubravka is leading SME support at GO Project, and she was LCA Leader at GreenProtein Project, European Commission, H2020, BBI JU (2016-2021). Dubravka has over 16 years of experience in providing support for SMEs in the area of environmental assessment and green transition.
Moderator: Antoine Walter, host of the “Don’t Waste Water” podcast

About the competition:

The InnoWise Scale pitching competitions are the final step after 3 months of mentoring, training, and networking opportunities between problem-holders and solution providers. The competitions focus on finding innovative solutions to reverse water scarcity, and changing water misuse and pollution to reduce, reuse and non-use water.

Winners of the competitions will be granted with 12,000 euros (1st prize) and 10,000 euros (2nd prize) in equity-free cash, to be used for scaling up their business. The evaluation will be based on the innovation and impact of the solution presented.

Moreover, there will be a special prize of 30,000 euros for testing purposes. This prize will be granted to the solution provider that better addresses the challenge and needs of the end user: DEYPAH (Greece).

Agenda:

10.00 Opening session

Eva Enyedi, Project Manager, EIT Climate KIC

10.05 Keynote presentation DEYAPH Case Study

Thomas Seitaridis, Chemical engineer, Deyaph

10.20 Innovators pitching

Four minutes pitching l Four minutes Q&A

11.20 Break

11.30 Round table: Is the world ready to go fully water-circular by 2050?

Gonzalo Delacámara, IE University, and Dubravka Skunca, GO Project, European Regional Development Fund & Region Skåne

Moderator: Antoine Walter, the “Don’t Waste Water” podcast

12.30 Keynote presentation