It has attracted interest from a company from Canada and one from California, established operating agreements with two companies in Israel, begun negotiating with three companies from Europe, started examining partnerships in Dubai and opened an ongoing dialog with the public utility in Singapore.
The Center of Excellence, a nonprofit incubator at the Desert Research Institute for water technology startups, has come a long way since it first received funding in 2013. And in the last six months, thanks to an infusion of funding during the legislative session, it's shifted into a higher gear in its quest to improve conservation of one of the most coveted resources in Nevada: water. Its two most recent calls for business proposals — one of which closed Tuesday and the other in September — generated interest from about 30 companies.
“I’m very optimistic, and I think it’s been very successful,” said Kenneth Ladd, a board member for the center as well as its first director. “When I say that, you have to realize this was a startup. Just like any startup, it took us a while. I think we have tremendous momentum.”
The center's goals are multifaceted and serve several interests in the state.
The basic premise of its model is to bring companies to Nevada with research and development funding to support projects that simultaneously satisfy the demands of the state’s water agencies. This, officials say, will spur economic development in water technology, an area where Nevada has plenty of experience, while supporting higher-education research.
Perhaps its most notable success so far has been a partnership with the Canadian company Echologics, which in April installed a real-time leak detection monitoring system that uses non-invasive sensors to track the sound profile of water along three miles of the Strip. The system allows the Las Vegas Valley Water District to evaluate the need to repair leaks.
“It’s the first installation of its kind in the world,” current director Nathan Allen said.
In addition to recruiting companies, the center provides contracts through partners like DRI and UNLV to cover commercialization activities, such as research, testing and demonstration.
The center’s interwoven mission is evidenced by the composition of its board, which includes the DRI president, the governor’s chief economic development officer, representatives from the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, and Pat Mulroy, who earned the unofficial title of “water czar” during her two-decade tenure as head of SNWA.
Scattered through the country are similar incubators focused on developing water technology companies. But what distinguishes the Center of Excellence, Allen said in an interview in August, is that it considers the needs of specific water agencies.
“We are really looking at what some of the demands are for the water sector,” Allen said.
From a company’s perspective, a partnership with the center offers an assurance that demand exists for their product. That’s important, Allen said, because breaking into the U.S. water market can be a tiresome process, especially for international companies unfamiliar with the patchwork structure of water distribution in the states. There are thousands of drinking water utilities, wastewater utilities, stormwater utilities and irrigation districts, all with different needs.
The center, Allen says, also is at an advantage because it can pitch companies on its expertise, noting that DRI has more hydrology department faculty than other U.S. academic institutions.
“People nationally and internationally look to Nevada for how we manage our water,” Allen said.
Before putting out its most recent requests for proposals, for instance, the center surveyed its partners, such as SNWA, to identify its needs so the center could tailor its request to meet a known demand. One of the 15 needs SNWA identified was for software in its distribution network that optimizes energy consumption without sacrificing water quality. Another issue it wants the center to tackle: a cost-effective way to monitor infrastructure in remote locations.
Although slow to start, the center has received a glut of industry response in recent months.
The center received 13 responses to a grant opportunity it issued after Gov. Brian Sandoval’s trade mission to the United Kingdom and Ireland this summer. As a result, it is currently negotiating with three European companies to establish a partnership with the center.
The center has also signed agreements for two Israeli water companies — OutLocks and Ayyeka — to partner with SNWA and establish at least some of its operations in Nevada.
According to Allen, the center, which started the bulk of its recruiting in May, is responsible for four companies incorporating in the state and making commitments to employ people here. The center has provided contracts for commercialization activities to an additional five companies.
Those numbers might seem low, but the 2-year-old entity, several of its leaders said, had little funding and infrastructure in place when it first started. That is likely to change. This year, the center received a commitment for $1.6 million over the next two years, in addition to the $500,000 it received from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development to cover initial costs.
Ladd, a longtime executive at U.S. Bank, hopes to see growth in the number of companies that do any combination of manufacturing, distribution or sales here.
“My hope is in 2016, we can bring three to five new companies to Southern Nevada,” he said.
To expand, the center is exploring partnerships with big industries in the state, including gaming and mining, to determine their needs for water solutions, hoping it will generate more demand.
“It has been a good tool for economic development,” said Matthew Tuma, a natural resources specialist in the governor’s economic development office. “It’s still a very young organization.”