Accelerator for Water Solutions
Tackling challenges
that matter
The CRH Ventures Accelerator for Water Solutions is designed to accelerate the most promising solutions that address the challenges of water management. With the backing of CRH, the global leader in building materials solutions, the programme allows startups to partner with CRH operating companies and pilot their solutions gaining access to 50+ years of technical expertise.
Challenge areas
CRH Ventures seeks solutions that address water management challenges, including stormwater, wastewater and potable water.
Storm Water
Generated from rain and snowmelt that flows over land or impervious surfaces, unmanaged stormwater can lead to flooding, pollution of waterways, damage to roads and infrastructure, and even poses human health risks. Solutions to prevent flood events and monitor and improve water quality can help to reduce the impact of stormwater on cities and populations.
Solutions: We are seeking solutions to prevent flood events and monitor and improve water quality to help reduce the impact of stormwater, such as:
Low Impact Development (LID)
Bio and microplastic filtration
Hydrodynamic separation
Water pipe networks management
Remote monitoring
Smart flow control systems
Flood detection
Erosion control
Green roof
'Heat island' effect mitigation
Coastal flood management and land reclamation
Wastewater
With growing populations and increasing industrial activity, the amount of wastewater produced by society continues to rise. This wastewater must be treated and disposed of in a safe and secure manner to protect our environment and public health. Solutions to reduce the amount of pollutants and to reuse water can help mitigate risks associated with wastewater.
Solutions: We are looking for solutions that reuse wastewater and reduce the amount of pollutants in our water to help mitigate the risks associated with wastewater, such as:
Plant treatment
Effluent treatment
On-site rural treatment
Grey water reuse (commercial/residential)
Potable water
With the rising impact of climate change, the opportunity to address water shortages and contamination is more important than ever. To solve for these challenges, we need access to innovative solutions that provide better control over water quality and the effectiveness of delivery systems. These technologies include leak detection monitoring, contaminate monitoring and smart valves.
Solutions: We need solutions that provide better control over water quality and the effectiveness of delivery systems, such as:
Leak detection monitoring
Contaminate monitoring & detection
Smart valves
Efficient supply
Aquifer recharge
Selected 2023 applicants
We are excited to be working with 6 companies that are addressing meaningful parts of the water value chain and each led by incredible founders. We look forward to these companies helping us provide solutions to our customers’ water infrastructure.
Aquality
Design and engineering solutions for stormwater harvesting systems, greywater recycling and wastewater.
- Founders:
- Thomas Contentin
- Lutz Johnen
Captoplastic
Water treatment technology intended to monitor and remove microplastics (PFAS) from the water.
- Founders:
- Raquel Parra Sanchez
Datatecnics
Design software to monitor water infrastructure assets and flow characteristics of water systems.
- Founders:
- Suhayl Zulfiquar
Fluidion
Connected field water quality instrumentation used to identify and track a plethora of contaminate and quality attributes, analysed thanks to remote transmission capabilities.
- Founders:
- Dan Angelescu
FSC Tech
Concrete reinforcement technology, based on wrapping and tensioning fibre together with resin around the concrete element.
- Founders:
- Vernon Cameron
- Claudio Subacchi
- Giovanni Ferri
Key numbers
Applicants across 5 continents around the globe.
Of applicants from North America and Europe.
Of companies identified Sustainability as a component of their competitive advantage.
Insights identified
Full solution offering
To help with challenges surrounding integration and scaling, many companies are aiming to be a one-stop shop for customers by providing as many of the products and services that surround the use of a novel product or system.
Engineered for integration
Physical systems are modularised and software is preferred to be open source or have an open API so that it can flex around a given customer’s infrastructure. This is especially important for retrofitting legacy infrastructure.
Services business
Contracting, maintenance and systems design are specialised operations in the water market. Given the risk and oversight associated with water, our customers are looking to offload as much of that responsibility as possible.
Low energy systems
Many companies, but especially those from emerging economies, are focused on reducing the energy consumption and emissions output of existing technologies as those become a stronger consideration when evaluating performance.
Let’s join forces
Benefits
Our Accelerator programme provided companies with a platform to test and scale their solutions by offering:
Pilots
Working directly with the global leader in water management solutions. Gaining insights from our vertically integrated platform and 50+ years of operational excellence.
CRH network
Collaborating with experts from across CRH’s 200+ brands and leveraging our strong network of industry partners to drive iteration.
Market validation
Demonstrate success at an industrial scale to accelerate product development and customer adoption.
Financial support & investment
All travel and pilot expenses are covered by the programme. CRH Ventures will consider investments of up to $5M in each start-up at the conclusion of the programme.
Operating companies working with our 2023 applicants, bringing practical solutions to market
Let’s work together
Contact us