Column by Hein Molenkamp

Entrepreneurship

By the time you read this, the summer will be fast approaching or may even already have begun. It is a summer that got off to a highly promising start for Dutch water technology in early spring, as the Dutch government announced in April that it is reserving 135 million euros from the National Growth Fund for innovative developments in water technology. This proposal came in response to the “De Blauwe Motor” [the blue engine] plan, a collaboration by numerous parties, including Water Alliance, Wetsus and other partners of the WaterCampus, aimed at using innovative water technology to address water shortage. Water shortage is a problem even in the relatively wet Dutch climate, but is felt around the world. By tackling the issues, the Dutch water technology sector can achieve a strong growth in exports.

The amount mentioned is substantial, but that is relative, considering the challenges the world faces. To name just three: the aforementioned shortage of freshwater, population growth, and climate change. The Dutch water technology sector is developing solutions to those and other problems. The solutions are often so smart that they make production or purification processes more sustainable, more circular, and often energy neutral. They are spreading worldwide thanks to an excellent infrastructure of knowledge, innovation, government and business, and we would like to continue that. That makes ‘De Blauwe Motor’ an important plan. We discuss this in further detail elsewhere in this magazine.

The infrastructure of knowledge, innovation, government and business is important, but I would like to emphasize the role of entrepreneurs, specifically, as they are the ones providing the initiatives and ideas. They are the ones taking the risk of putting hundreds of often unpaid hours into research and, sometimes, trial and error. Enjoy the read!

Hein Molenkamp Managing Director, Water Alliance