(don't) Waste Water! | Water Tech to Solve the World | S6E2 - 20 Years in the Desert (to then become a Millionaire!)

Description

A crazily expensive 1-step unit is the future of wastewater treatment.

In the early eighties, Andrew Benedek had a vision. One day, the World would need to reuse its wastewater and have the right tools to do so.

And what better than a membrane could guarantee a safe and constant outcome for the treatment he aimed to develop?

Andrew was convinced of it: membrane bioreactors would become a go-to.

Yet, at that time, membranes were so costly that no one wanted to use them, not even for drinking water applications.

So before implementing them to sort our pee and poo, there was a long way to go...

Yet, in the middle of the nineties, several bacterial outbreaks turned the use of membranes into an unavoidable luxury.

As a result, because of scale effects, membrane prices tumbled, and they became mainstream.

In turn, rid of their main drawback, membrane bioreactors established themselves as the reference solution. After a two-decade journey through the desert, Zenon, Andrew's company, became the hottest prospect in the Water Industry.

And everyone acknowledged that nothing is more powerful than an Idea whose time has come! Andrew Benedek was right:

Wanna dive deeper into the story? Check out my full interview with Andrew Benedek right here.

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About (don't) Waste Water! | Water Tech to Solve the World

❓ Ever wondered how the #WaterIndustry was reacting to our World's Water Challenges? Water Scarcity? #SDG6? PFAS? Climate Change? Circular Economy? Digitization and Smart Water?

💪 Get the Water Market pulse for free. In one hour per week, while you do the dishes!

📈 We talk water investment, water tech, water entrepreneurship and water market with entrepreneurs, thought leaders, book authors, scientists, investment funds, VCs, and C-Level experts from water majors.

➡️ Leverage their insights, advice & experience and ensure to stay on top of best practices

🗓️ Tune in every Wednesday (don't miss out! 😅)

🌐 Find all the detailed episode notes, interviews, infographics, and more at http://dww.show

Currently in its 10th Season, the "(don't) Waste Water" podcast has already welcomed around 200 guests from Water Majors (SUEZ, Veolia, Jacobs, Xylem, Kemira, Evoqua, Aquatech, SKion Water...), Scale-Ups (Cambrian Innovation, Epic Cleantec, Liqtech, 374Water, Gingko Bioworks...), Start-Ups (Puraffinity, KETOS, 120Water, ZwitterCo, Membrion, Source...), Universities (Berkeley, the Columbia Water Center), Investment Funds (Sciens Water, Mazarine, Burnt Island Ventures...), Business Accelerators (Imagine H2O, Elemental...), Book Authors (Seth Siegel, David Sedlak, David Lloyd Owen...) or Market Intelligence Companies (BlueTech Research, Global Water Intelligence, World Bank, OECD, Isle Utilities...). Or simply water legends like Mina Guli or Andrew Benedek!

On the "(don't) Waste Water" podcast, I strive to make the Water Industry easy to understand for everyone, starting with water professionals, executives, and investors. Hence, he opens the microphone to seasoned, inspirational water experts to discuss their field of excellence.

No one can claim an all-around in-depth understanding of a matter as complex as Water. But piece by piece, you can rebuild the puzzle. With curiosity, patience, and passion, Antoine Walter explores topics such as Advanced Treatment Technologies, Water-Energy Nexus (Hydrogen, Lithium...), PFAS removal, Nature-Based Solutions, Wastewater Reuse, Distributed Water Treatments, Water Finance, and Water Entrepreneurship.

I actually firmly believe that regular listeners of the "(don't) Waste Water" podcast may, in the end, claim a "Water MBA!"

A particular field of interest is how innovation forms, grows and gets widely adopted in a complex and conservative field like the Water Industry. This may be one of the keys to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal n°6 - #SDG6.

ABOUT ME:

I'm a second-generation Water Professional - the legend says my dad traded excavator sessions for me in river banks against lunch invitations. I followed on this early start by completing a Master's in Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering, then won the "Golden Mission" contest organized by ENGIE (GDF-SUEZ).

This led me to travel the Asia-Pacific region for one year to explore, amongst others, water treatment in Hong Kong, desalination facilities in Melbourne, water distribution management in Jakarta, water innovation in Singapore or social water projects in New Delhi and Gujarat. All of that was documented in videos, blog articles, radio spots, and conferences in engineering and business schools (that's where I got hooked!)

I've then worked for SUEZ in Switzerland in strategic marketing, business development, and sales for the DACH and Nordic regions, with an emphasis on micropollutant removal.

I then joined GF Piping Systems in 2017 to take over the business development for the company's services in Europe, then for all Water Treatment and Lithium topics worldwide.

I've been a regular speaker at conferences on four continents, gave my first TEDx in 2022, and regularly acted as a host.

Since 2020, I've been hosting the "(don't) Waste Water" podcast and giving lectures in Business and Engineering schools.

I'm married, a happy father of three, and I'm French (nobody's perfect 😅).