Review of the BES Event: Bringing Innovations to the Market

“If we want to help make a better world with water technology, the entire value chain needs to be aligned in order to succeed in bringing innovations to the market.” This was the conclusion from Eduard Borra’s, principal investigator at Leitat of this event. More than 60 participants from various organizations working in bioelectrochemical systems attend the event entitled Bioelectrochmical Systems: Key Technologies in the Water-Energy Nexus. The event took place today in the framework of the MIDES project at Leitat’s headquarters.

The morning featured presentations from the MIDES project, ISLE Utilities, Lequia-UDG, and GENOCOV-UAB. Afternoon activities included a techno tour and a sector roundtable on key technology in a circular economy.

Discussions in the round table panel touched on the realities of successful introduction of innovations in markets. It was noted that there is a clear opportunity for innovation with this type of MIDES technology, and it is important to keep in mind the end users, so that the technology is relevant and can be sustainably integrated. On developing truly innovative approaches, panelists remarked that the sooner we can move beyond simply harnessing power from bacteria, the more we can realize beneficial applications. Next generations should focus on dreaming of how to push possibilities to establish proof of concept and then let the baby grow.