Pictured: Alan Shapiro, Director, waterNEXT; Hein Molenkamp, Managing Director, Water Alliance; and Lejla Uzicanin, Vice President, Data, Research, & Policy, Invest Vancouver.
September 19, 2022 — Foresight, Canada’s cleantech accelerator, is proud to announce a historic international partnership with Water Alliance, an established global cluster located in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Our new partnership will stimulate the growth of both the Canadian and Dutch water innovation ecosystems.
Water Alliance is focused on enabling innovative and sustainable water technology that can be used worldwide, and has effectively brought together a complete chain of innovation for water technology, solidifying the Netherlands as the European Water Technology Hub.
Similarly positioned in Canada, Foresight is excited to be collaborating with Water Alliance to expand our waterNEXT network in Canada, accelerating the commercialization and adoption of Canadian solutions for global water challenges.
The new partnership will strengthen trade connections between Canada and the Netherlands, while leveraging the networks and expertise of the organizations to support water technology companies from both countries in securing business and partnerships.
This collaboration will also facilitate mutual access into other strategic markets, with the Netherlands serving as a gateway to the European market and Canada offering a stepping stone to the United States and Latin America.
Within Canada, the Metro Vancouver region has a particularly strong interest in drawing on lessons from Water Alliance to advance water technology priorities, and is a key area of focus for the partnership. These activities are supported by Invest Vancouver, the Metro Vancouver region's economic development leadership service, and the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Vancouver.
“We are delighted to partner with leaders like Water Alliance to spark international collaboration and fast-track solutions to the world’s most pressing water challenges. Canada’s water technology ecosystem extends across many of our largest sectors, including utilities, energy, mining, agriculture, and manufacturing, and is a critical piece of the net zero economy.”
Jeanette Jackson CEO of Foresight.
"It is great to sign this MoU between Water Alliance and waterNEXT / Foresight, connecting Leeuwarden to Vancouver and the Netherlands to Canada. Together we can accelerate new innovations going quicker to the market in order to bring more impact."
Hein Molenkamp Managing Director of Water Alliance.
About Foresight
Foresight is Canada’s cleantech accelerator. Foresight supports the identification and validation of cleantech opportunities and the successful commercialization of solutions. We bring together industry, government, academia, investors, and innovators to address today’s most urgent climate issues and support a global transition to a green economy. Find out more at www.foresightcac.com. Follow on Twitter @ForesightCAC.
waterNEXT is Canada’s water technology network, operated as a strategic initiative of Foresight. WaterNEXT works across multiple sectors, bringing together stakeholders from across the water innovation ecosystem to accelerate the commercialization and adoption of Canadian technologies for the world’s most pressing water challenges.
About Water Alliance
Water Alliance is a unique partnership of public and private companies, government agencies and knowledge institutes involved in water technology in the Netherlands. It brings together a complete chain of innovation for water technology, from first idea, research & development, specialized laboratories, a water application centre, various demosites, launching customers to international applications with commercial companies. Learn more: https://wateralliance.nl/en/.
