Southwest Ohio has a long history of innovation in water technology — the area leads the country in water technology patents per capita, and is currently home to one of five
Environmental Protection Agency offices in the United States.
A partnership between
The Hamilton Mill and
Village Capital is yielding a new water-tech commercialization program,
Pipeline H2O. Its mission is to identify and commercialize the world’s leading water-based startup technologies.
Pipeline is managed by
The Hamilton Mill, a business incubator in Hamilton that focuses on clean energy and advanced manufactured technologies. The program plans to utilize The Hamilton Mill’s “City as a Lab” approach, which enables companies to engage with municipal departments to prototype and test their projects. Several water-based startups are on the path to commercialization through The Hamilton Mill.
The Hamilton Mill is part of the Village Capital community network that is dedicated to innovation. Village Capital operates business development programs for early-stage entrepreneurs in agriculture, education, energy, financial inclusion, health and water. Greater Cincinnati is one of five Village Capital communities dedicated to innovation around water technologies.
Village Capital creates space for entrepreneurs to work together across the boundaries of other organizations. Over the past five years, program graduates have reached 6 million customers, created over 7,000 jobs and raised more than $110 million in follow-on capital.
Pipeline is a collaboration among many local organizations — Village Capital, the EPA,
Cincinnati Water Works,
Confluence, the
University of Cincinnati’s water center, Xavier University’s Center for Innovation, the City of Cincinnati, the City of Hamilton,
Cintrifuse and The Hamilton Mill.
Pipeline is officially open and
accepting applications until Nov. 11.
The program is looking for companies that are working on water technologies that solve various aspects of the world’s water issues, including infrastructure improvements, water reuse, wastewater treatment and monitoring. Pipeline is hoping to attract 8-10 startups for its first class, which will run from February to May 2017.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.