Innovation
With a goal to harness clean and renewable energy from excess water found within the water mains system, Rentricity (an amalgamation of renewable and electricity), established in 2003, is pioneering a new wave of reliable and renewable hydro-kinetic energy in the US. With the continual flow of water through underground pipelines - 24
Zammataro, an ex-Wall St. Executive, spending 21 years at Merrill Lynch, always had a flair for innovation and entrepreneurship. Leaving in 2000, he explains after the events of 9/11 in New York, he moved offices in his then current job to mid-town Manhattan - “It just so happened that when we set up this temporary space, below the conference window there was a water
evacuation system that could be powered by water on top of tall buildings. At the time I had zero mechanical or electrical background, but luckily I had a contact at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York,” Zammataro explains. From the initial idea, the co-founders took their concept to academic professors to see if it was a viable one.
hours a day, 365 days a year – inevitably allows the generation of renewable energy all year round too. Co-founders, Frank Zammataro, Al Spinell and Jason Scharfspitz originally set up the company as a side-line project to help utilise this excess flowing water through the pipelines of New York City.
tower on top of a 30 storey building. We stared at that water tower for weeks on end after 9/11 and at one point, my co-founder turned to me and said: ‘Can we use the water in the tower to create power?’ As it was going from the 30th floor down to the ground floor. “We envisioned an emergency
Although the concept had potential, the professors pointed out that, inevitably, water tanks have a limited supply of water as opposed to the prospect and opportunity found in water systems and water distribution networks with artificial pressure regulation. So in the summer of 2002, PAGE 17