Dragon’s Den Recap: A Stepping Stone for Freshwater Innovation
The water crisis is a complex issue that is significantly affecting our planet, manifesting itself as a triple crisis impacting our climate, our economy and our public health. This multi-dimensional crisis requires an integrated approach, where innovative technologies play a crucial role in paving the way towards a more sustainable future. It’s against this backdrop that green and blue companies are gathering at the Salon des Technologies Environnementales.
One week after the Salon des Technologies Environnementales du Québec, it’s time to look back at this landmark event, which highlighted innovation and creativity in the freshwater sector. Organized by Réseau Environnement and AquaAction, the show featured an exciting pitch competition moderated by Mr. Luc Sirois, Quebec’s Chief Innovator.
“The water crisis is affecting our climate, our economy and our health. Innovators deploying social innovations or using cutting-edge digital technologies such as artificial intelligence to protect and better manage our water resources are essential to a more sustainable future.”
-Luc Sirois, Quebec’s Chief Innovator
Inspired by the TV show of the same name, the “Dragon’s Den” pitch competition highlighted five companies from the 2nd cohort of the AquaEntrepreneur program, intending to identify the most promising initiatives and support them on their path to success.
The “Dragon’s Den” competition
The “Dragon’s Den” competition was the highlight of the STEQ. After some passionate and inspiring presentations, it is now time to congratulate the two big winners: BioAlert and RegenEau!
Featured Companies
Faced with the challenges of the water crisis, innovative technologies offer a ray of hope. The innovative companies highlighted in this competition offer effective, proven and marketable solutions, which have won over the hearts of our dragons:
- RegenEAU presented a revolutionary solution for reducing hot water energy costs by recovering heat from domestic wastewater.
- BioAlert Solutions offers a technological innovation for proactive, automated and autonomous identification of dangerous pathogens such as Legionella.
- CleanNature revolutionizes the management and optimization of winter road salt distribution, thanks to an innovative AI platform.
- O’Clair unveiled its online platform for transmitting real-time information on septic systems for autonomous residences.
- Pergamon presented its IoT platform that collects and transmits real-time water data to the user to address complex water monitoring challenges.
The Dragons
Six Dragons had the tough task of deciding between the companies presented. These seasoned experts drew on their experience to choose between the innovations presented.
Acknowledgements
This event represented an exceptional opportunity to see first-hand how cutting-edge technologies are being applied to solve the water crisis. By bringing together forward-thinking thinkers, creators and entrepreneurs, the Dragon’s Den serves as a platform for sharing ideas, innovations and solutions that can help shape a future where water, such a vital resource, is managed more sustainably and equitably. Thank you to all attendees who care about the future of our planet for coming to discover and support the efforts of innovators who are paving the way to a greener, more sustainable future.
We’d also like to extend our warmest thanks to all the companies who took part in the “Dragon’s Den” competition and manned the trade show booths. Many thanks also to the dragons for their essential expertise in this competition, and to Réseau Environnement for organizing this event in collaboration with AquaAction.
We look forward to seeing how these innovations will continue to shape the freshwater landscape in Quebec and beyond.
For more photos and videos of the event, follow us on LinkedIn @AquaAction
