The market
According to Forbes magazine, the revenues of companies involved in the production and sale of drinking water have now surpassed one trillion dollars. This is larger than the pharmaceutical sector and represents 40% of the revenue generated by oil companies. Already, 5% of the world's water resources are managed by private capital. However, this highly profitable and stable activity is controlled by 10 companies. The three largest are French (Veolia Environnement, Suez, and Degrémont), followed by the German group RWE (Thames Water) and the American conglomerate Bechtel (United Utilities). Veolia and Suez each serve 200 million customers in more than 100 countries. More than 100 billion liters of bottled water are sold worldwide, 90% of which is in single-use plastic containers. Coca-Cola predicts that growth in treated tap water—which sells for more than gasoline—will surpass its soft drink revenues within a decade. In 2009, global retail sales of bottled drinking water increased by 25% in volume and 27% in value. At least a quarter of bottled water is tap water, and most expensive plastic packaging offers no healthier water than tap water. Russia's water sector has grown from virtually nothing to a billion dollars. Russians expect double-digit growth over the next decade, as per capita consumption is only 15 liters per year, compared to 40 liters in Poland and 50 in the Czech Republic. A one-liter bottle costs €0.50 in Brazil, €1.00 in the United Arab Emirates, and €1.30 in French Polynesia. Despite the Millennium Development Goals promoted by the United Nations, it is expected that by 2050, 4 billion people will suffer from severe water shortages due to massive urbanization, compared to 400 million today. Even in Europe, 23 million citizens now face water crises each year. The lack of safe drinking water causes 3.4 million deaths annually. To reverse these trends, governments are considering building water pipelines similar to those used to transport oil. Canada has considered pipelines from Manitoba to Texas and from British Columbia to California, at a cost of $20 million per kilometer, delivering 5 billion cubic meters of water per year through each pipeline, as demand increases. These $50 billion investments would still be less expensive than providing the same amount of water through reverse osmosis (RO) desalination. Such megaprojects are not a technological or financial challenge, but rather a matter of political decisions that could transform countries like Canada, Chile, Norway, Turkey and the United States (Alaska) into OPECs of water.
Innovation
The demand for water—a prerequisite for life—fuels big ideas and strategic decisions. Water companies are buying up vast tracts of wilderness and entire hydrological systems for the future development of Latin America. Others are investing in a new tanker trucking business to transport water worldwide, securing long-term contracts. Another strategy employed by water sector investors is to buy water rights from farmers for access to wells or to contract with cities to extract local water. General Electric (GE) has established its global water research center in Singapore, a city-state that could not survive long without water supplies from Malaysia and the recycling of the island's wastewater. GE sets the target energy cost for one cubic meter of water at 2.4 kWh produced by integrated water (IW). To compete with the aforementioned megaprojects, the energy cost for IW would need to fall to less than one kWh. This is not achievable without a combination of multiple innovations such as the vortex (see Case 1). However, all the solutions considered rely heavily on abundant and readily available energy, which will inevitably run out. Unfortunately, large-scale RO (Reverse Osmosis) installations are not only expensive, but for every two liters of potable water, they release one liter of brine, a salty sludge classified as a dead zone pollutant in the sea. Marc Parent worked on a lobster farm in the French West Indies as an air conditioning maintenance technician. The acute shortage of potable water and the unreliability of government services led him to try to capture the condensation water from air conditioning systems. At the same time, he had to find a solution to the continuous interruptions in the power supply. His knowledge of applied fundamental physics led to the design of a wind turbine that generates electricity to draw in air, cool it inside, and condense the water. He envisioned an all-in-one device. He decided to return home to the French Alps, convinced that if it worked with dry air at high altitude, it would work anywhere. He then founded Eole Water (France) in 2008, secured local funding in 2010, and proved its ability to produce one cubic meter of water per day. His next 50-meter-high watermill will be capable of extracting 5,000 liters of water per day. Marc has obtained two patents and relocated to develop his new business.
The first cash flow
The first water management system (WMS) that produces both water and electricity was sold to the government of the United Arab Emirates in 2011. The wind turbine generates 30 kW of power, and the cost of water is expected to drop to €0.05 per liter. The initial investment is projected to decrease from €500,000 to €300,000 in the first few years. While this system requires a higher initial investment for a lower daily output, it eliminates the need for electricity and any related infrastructure, making it completely self-sufficient. The WMS 1000 requires minimal maintenance compared to other water production facilities and emits no greenhouse gases for 15 to 30 years. The entire system is constructed from 100% recyclable components. A key aspect of the design engineering is that the WMS operates on the energy produced without a regulator, allowing for the direct consumption of electricity to produce water and supply the local grid. As an innovator, Marc Parent, now in his forties, decided to take no risks with his suppliers and sourced components for his systems from the best in the field, ranging from Siemens for electronics, Leroy Somer for power systems, and ArcelorMittal for all stainless steel parts. He has become a systems integrator, putting components at the service of function.
The opportunity
A wind turbine that produces water and electricity, designed to operate in remote areas with minimal maintenance, requires a range of design features such as self-cleaning systems, remote control, and the stringent corrosion protection necessary in coastal areas. All the equipment, including the tower, turbine, water generator, and power supply, is housed in two 40-foot containers, enabling local installation in just a few days. Thus, its commercial potential is not limited to islands and deserts; it can be rapidly deployed in the event of natural disasters. The main advantage is not just its independence; its multifunctionality offers multiple benefits by meeting local needs with locally available resources. This is one of the fundamental characteristics of the blue economy. While the WMS (Water Management System) does not claim to achieve rapid widespread adoption, it has demonstrated that combining expertise with the ability to simultaneously meet basic needs offers a competitive business proposition. This opens the door for other entrepreneurs, either as licensees for marketing and manufacturing, or to operate these WMS systems as individual profit centers, since the cost per liter of water is significantly lower than the retail price of any bottled water. This means that contaminant-free water can be guaranteed, flavor or minerals can be added, and it can be sold competitively locally. This is an important feature when pharmaceutical residues in our drinking water system are on the rise and even OI (International Ordinance) cannot completely eliminate them. The technology that Marc Parent has launched will be part of a portfolio of core innovations that will be a game-changer in the market.
