WC129 MarApr2023 - Flipbook - Page 14
COLLABORATION
Pilot with the City of Montréal
A pilot version of the program was delivered in partnership with
the City of Montréal in 2021 and 2022. Three Montréal-based
water tech companies participated, presenting their solutions to
municipalities throughout the Greater Montréal region:
O’land Stations – a mobile drinking water refill station for
major public events,
Chembrains – a closed-loop water treatment system for splash
pads, and
Ecotime Solutions – rainwater capture and distribution solution for buildings.
Through AquaEntrepreneur, these start-ups were able to
improve their business models to better meet the needs of the municipal sector, establish new partnerships, and initiate pilot projects
with partners from small, medium, and large municipalities.
Marie-France Witty, director of strategy and performance,
Water Services, for the City of Montréal notes that the AquaEntrepreneur program “makes innovation projects accessible” for
municipalities of all sizes. She shared that, “for larger cities, where
often mandates will be too big for a start-up to meet the needs,
the program allows for the opportunity to connect with small or
medium enterprises to implement innovative projects on a reduced scale. Testing innovative solutions on a small scale is often
more realistic for both the start-up and the municipality.”
Province-wide launch
In spring 2022, the Government of Québec’s Ministry of
Economy and Innovation announced over $2 million in funding
for the program to be delivered across the province from 2022
to 2025. According to Dominique Monchamp, senior advisor
to AquaAction, “The funds will be used to support emerging
companies with innovative water technology solutions that
will help municipalities across Quebec improve their water
management practices and, ultimately, help in the conservation
of this precious resource.”
The first cohort of companies will be matched with municipal
partners throughout the province in early 2023 to begin the development of pilot projects. The start-up solutions that are eligible range from optimized road salt management, modular ozone
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PILOT RESULTS TAKE FLIGHT
O’land Stations reviewed their sales model and are now offering
rentals alongside their sales options as a direct result of better
understanding municipal needs for short-term services, enabling
them to secure their first municipal rental contract.
Ecotime Solutions secured a contract to study the design of a
new public works building to be constructed in the coming years
to determine the feasibility of integrating a rainwater capture
and distribution system for flushing toilets, irrigation, and other
applications.
Chembrains partnered with another company, completed their pilotscale prototype, and established strategic connections with five
municipalities to review options for their water treatment system for
splash pads for the summer of 2023. Founder of Chembrains, Aziz
Gherrou, reflected on his experience by saying,“I have participated
in many business development support programs, but what makes
AquaEntrepreneur stand out is the specific focus on water in a
municipal context. My participation in the program helped me bring
my pilot project to fruition, thanks to the quality coaching I received
from business experts and the program organizers.”
water treatment systems, and wireless remote water monitoring
solutions to allow for real time tracking of water distribution
system performance.
Applications are currently open for a second cohort of companies that will be on-boarded in spring 2023, with ongoing
program in-takes through 2025.
A network of advisors and experts
To maximize AquaEntrepreneur program's success in Québec,
AquaAction partnered with IVÉO, a non-profit organization that
serves as an “innovation broker” in implementing cutting-edge
solutions to further advance the sustainability priorities of their
50+ municipal members within the province. This partnership
ensures the right municipal representatives are at the table from
the start of the process and builds on existing relationships of trust,
which contributes significantly to an accelerated project timeline.
Additionally, several subject matter experts in water tech, municipal operations, and entrepreneurship are engaged as coaches
and advisors to support program participants. The diversity of
experts available to both the companies and municipal stakeholders allows for a customized approach based on the specific
needs of the program participants, further fast-tracking the
development and deployment of collaborative pilot projects.
Having successfully deployed AquaEntrepreneur on a citywide level in Montréal and on a provincial scale across Québec,
AquaAction is already looking to bring the program to other
Canadian cities and provinces.
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the viability and credibility of a new solution presented by an
emerging company. Additionally, trust by local governments is
key to the success of many collaborations with external partners,
which takes time to develop.
AquaAction recognized the need to provide critical and
much-needed support to early-stage water tech enterprises in
building connections with the municipal sector. In response,
the organization launched the AquaEntrepreneur program. The
objective of the program is to support start-ups and municipalities to deploy on-the-ground water tech pilot projects by serving
in an intermediary role, performing several functions such as
brokering, networking, and accessing expert coaches.
