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Waterjade: the global platform to predict water resources

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Waterjade (Waterjade: the global platform to predict water resources)

Berichtszeitraum: 2019-06-01 bis 2019-11-30

Water is defined the “blue gold” of 21st century because of its importance for human activities and the increasing conflicts on water access. Yet, despite the great technological advances, still one question remains open: “how much water is there and when will it become available”?
Solving this question is particularly difficult for many reasons. 1. water flows on the ground and is subject to complex and non-linear paths, like snow accumulation, evapo-transpiration and infiltration, and so cannot be simplistic answered by weather forecast. 2. Climate change has changed the historical hydrological patterns, making water availability inconstant and subject to increased periods of drought and flood. Simplified approaches based on historical data, generally used by water managers, are therefore totally obsolete and unable to provide reliable water predictions.
Waterjade is a new technology that allows to monitor water resources at large scale and predict water discharge in rivers. It is built upon a mix of artificial intelligence and physically-based models, capable of exploiting all sources of data, from in-situ measurements to satellite images and numerical weather predictions. Each source of data is properly processed to account for snow and runoff contributions, taking into account local morphologyto calibrate the residence times of water in the basin. Compared with state-of-the-art technology, the advantages are: 1) it accounts for complex morphology of mountain terrain; 2) it follows the physical processes, allowing a transparent interpretation of the results; 3) it is accurate during all water regimes (low and high flows).
Waterjade allows to predict water flows in big rivers and small streams for the next days and months, allowing to anticipate flood and drought conditions, facilitate the solution of water conflicts and adapt to climate change.
During the feasibility study, Waterjade has analyzed the market and has developed the best strategies to follow for a successful commercialization of the innovative solution. The main results achieved in the feasibility study have been:
1. Market study: A detailed analysis of the size, the conditions and the potential of the market was developed. The result was very positive and new segment have been found to potentially scale our products.
2. Marketing: The best strategy for a successful introduction in the target markets has been developed, with positive results in terms of communication and visibility and knowledge of new strategies for the markets where we will introduce Waterjade.
3. Strategic alliances and partners: A study was carried out looking for possible alliances and partnerships. We focused the study in Europe, but analysing international possibilities such as USA, Canada and LATAM. The results has been very positive and several new agreements were reached.
4. IPR Study: a study was developed, obtaining as a result an IPR strategy for future new developments and the proper protection in new countries
5. Financial analysis: we assessed Waterjade’s financial forecast according to the market and commercialization analysis. The result has been a very detailed business strategy with different models and alternatives.
Waterjade is an innovative project which offers solutions beyond the current start of the art. A competitors analysis has been carried out analysing the differences of Waterjade with the current and future potential competitors.
Moreover, thanks to this stady, Waterjade has carried out and impact assessment report, which concluded that our solution provides direct benefit for climate adaptation, as it allows the plant manager to improve the energy planning and get prepared to face possible extreme events (drought or flood). It also has indirect climate mitigation effects, as it allows to prevent water overflow from reservoirs.
After the feasibility assessment carried out, the conclusion is that Waterjade is a very innovative solution and has a great economical potential in target markets
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