InspireWater: Innovation management and comms

Innovative techniques to increase water and raw material efficiency in industries

The InspireWater project aims to find innovative techniques to increase water and raw material efficiency in resource demanding steel- and chemical industries and to support the implementation of new resource-efficient technologies. IMCG managed the innovation process within exploitation and market analysis in order to create value and impact of the results by creating acceptance in the industry, managing regulatory barriers and developing business models that will be viable after the project is finished. IMCG worked strategically with IPR management to encourage partners not only to rely on general agreements, like the Consortium Agreement, but to sign legal documents regulating details, minimizing the risk of legal disputes and maximizing the possibility for the developed techniques to reach the market.

IVL Swedish Environmental Institute coordinates the InspireWater project, which is EU-financed by €5.5 million and will run for three and a half years until 2020. The goal is to strengthen the competitiveness of the European steel and chemical industry and put Europe as a leader in the world market for segments in industrial water treatment, which will create new high qualified jobs in Europe.

Public authorities, global steel companies, research institutes and universities in Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands participate in the project, together with IMCG´s offices both in London and Gothenburg. Great effort is put into that the techniques that are developed will reach the next level in the innovation process, reach its market potential and make an impact.

IMCG has developed a unique consortium with 11 leading actors and is in charge of leading and coordinating the project utilization process.

In 2018 IMCG produced a market analysis for the InspireWater project with the purpose of exploring the potential market for wastewater treatment technologies. The market analysis supports commercialisation, economic assessment and exploitation and is focused on wastewater treatment in the process industry. It aims to give our project partners BFI, MOL Katalyst and BLUE-tec an overview of factors affecting one’s chances to make a market entrance:

• Market trends
• Rules, regulations and influential organisations
• Ways to reach the potential customers
• Competitors and competitive techniques
• SWOT-analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
• Further reading and venues where to meet potential customers

There is a clear shift from wastewater treatment to water reuse and resource recovery. Water scarcity leads to the implementation of stricter regulations, which in turn makes the process industry invest in a wastewater treatment system that can fulfil the new rules. This opens up tremendous opportunities to make a market entrance.

Through InspireWater, opportunities to work closely with potential customers and collaborators such as Sandvik, ArcelorMittal, Clariant and DOW arise. They have provided information for this report, which will be of value when planning for exploitation.

You have just read a customer reference story by IMCG International. As of 1.1.2023, IMCG is part of Spinverse.