ACADES is working to accelerate innovation at its 3rd Business Matching Event

Innovation is key to water security. That was one of the central themes at the 3rd Business Roundtable of the Chilean Association for Desalination and Reuse (ACADES), an event aimed at accelerating innovation and the development of investment and business projects in the water production sector.

At the event, representatives from more than 80 ACADES member companies, including Pares&Alvarez, Sacyr Agua, BHP, Antofagasta Minerals, Esval, Aguas CAP, Almar Water, Aguas Nuevas, Engie, Aguas Antofagasta, SQM, Mitsui, and Aguas Pacífico, among others, raised various challenges facing the sector that could be addressed with solutions offered by suppliers, technologists, service providers, consultants, and startups. Topics addressed included smart monitoring and predictive maintenance; critical infrastructure and resilience; energy optimization and process efficiency; the circular economy and byproduct recovery; community engagement and relations; and legal, regulatory, commercial, and financial aspects, among others.

Claudia Goza, Environmental Manager at Pares&Alvarez, participated in the session on regulatory and legislative issues, sharing her experience in environmental and sector-specific project permitting with companies in the mining and energy sectors.

During the Business Roundtable, hosted at INACAP’s main campus, the association signed a collaboration agreement with the institution to jointly promote innovation, technology transfer, and human capital development for the country’s sustainable development.

Catalina Iglesias, INACAP’s Vice Rector for Academic and Innovation, emphasized that “this agreement strengthens the competitiveness and productivity of the water sector in our country through innovation projects, technology transfer, and continuing education (…) not only does it drive technological innovation in the field of desalination and water reuse, but it also has a direct impact on the employability of our students and graduates by opening up opportunities for specialization in a rapidly growing sector of utmost importance to Chile.”

Meanwhile, the president of ACADES stated that “this agreement reflects how successful and necessary working partnerships are between institutions such as ACADES and INACAP, with a shared vision of a sustainable future. The agreement includes the implementation of projects to improve competitiveness and productivity, academic and outreach activities, and the promotion of employability for students and graduates in the field of desalination and water treatment.”