January 22, 2014 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Despite pessimism, new entrants into the $600 billion water industry are bringing emerging technologies that will disrupt the industry and create new opportunities, according to Lux Research.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

"To read recent headlines in the water industry, one might think the sector is impossible to navigate, but that couldn't be further from the truth," said Brent Giles, Lux Research senior analyst. "By targeting worthwhile market sectors and keeping in mind some key sector-specific principles, a company can build a successful business."

These new entrants, including many startups, are bringing improved and innovative technology to the market.

 

Two areas dominate innovative company activity, according to Lux, where a quarter of the start-ups focus on monitoring, forecast and control -- an area that includes advanced sensors and process control. Nearly another quarter focuses on basic wastewater treatment.

Advanced sensors are a top technology within monitoring. Advanced sensors read key analytics in real time and use robust techniques, allowing for uses like monitoring of municipal water systems to reduce leakage and non-revenue water, Lux Research found.

An important development poised to go mainstream is low-energy, low-sludge wastewater treatment, Lux said, and start-ups have developed simpler systems that do away with traditional energy-hungry blowers and significantly reduce the sludge resulting from treatment.

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