{"id":16886,"date":"2025-12-09T22:32:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T21:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isleutilities.com\/?p=16886"},"modified":"2025-12-17T22:48:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T21:48:40","slug":"leveraging-trials-as-a-springboard-for-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isleutilities.com\/es\/leveraging-trials-as-a-springboard-for-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Leveraging Trials as a Springboard for Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past year, the Trial Reservoir Initiative (TRI) has worked with partners across the water innovation ecosystem to highlight the role of trials as a blueprint for derisking innovation. Here are updates from recent discussions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Webinar with The Water Council<\/h4>\n

In particular, TRI recently partnered with <\/span>The Water Council<\/b> to cohost an invitation-only webinar for members and alumni of their Business, Research & Entrepreneurship in Water (BREW) 2.0 accelerator program. The Water Council (TWC) is a hub dedicated to solving critical water challenges by driving innovation in freshwater technology and advancing water stewardship. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, TWC has global reach, promoting technologies to address sustainability challenges around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the webinar, Isle led a discussion around trial and opportunities with two TRI alumni: <\/span>EnBiorganic<\/b> y <\/span>Or\u00e8ge<\/b>. EnBiorganic shared insights from their trial with Meadlow Lake Mechanical Pulp, where they successfully reduced Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), color, and odor from the facility\u2019s high-organic wastewater, thus saving operators time and money. Or\u00e8ge highlighted their successful trial with Yorkshire Water, where their Solid-Liquid-Gas-Flosep (SLG-F) plug-and-play package plant dramatically reduced the utility\u2019s volume of sewage sludge.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Third Coast Water Seminars with Current Water<\/h4>\n

Dr. Reshmina William, lead for the U.S. Utilities Trial Reservoir, also presented as part of Great Lakes ReNEW\u2019s <\/span>Third Coast Water Seminar<\/b> series. The series highlights the research, technologies, and policies advancing a circular water economy in the Great Lakes region, the broader U.S., and globally. Dr. William shared her lessons learned around common <\/span>trial bottlenecks<\/span><\/a>, and how the trial reservoir model has helped to address some of these challenges for pilots around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h5>\n
    \n
  1. Proof-of-concept trials are a necessary and important part of the innovation process.<\/strong> Technology demonstrations improve credibility by providing concrete evidence that a technology will work as intended. They also improve end-user engagement and buy-in, allowing for feedback and design iteration to meet evolving stakeholder needs.<\/li>\n
  2. Proactive management before, during, and after the trial design process is key to addressing systemic bottlenecks.<\/strong> Effective trial management can include acknowledgement and addressing of risks as part of the contractual trial documentation. It can also include stage-gating, risk management, and other project management approaches that can be built into the trial design.<\/li>\n
  3. Effective trials act as a \u201cspringboard\u201d for innovators seeking to access new markets.<\/strong> When it comes to regional or sectoral growth for novel technologies, no end-user wants to be the \u201cguinea pig.\u201d By enabling proof-of-concepts in new environments, TRI allows companies to build a track of success. These reference sites give them a foot in the door to new markets and allow them to establish trust early with potential customers.<\/li>\n
  4. The Trial Reservoirs Initiative acts as a pathway to de-risk technology adoption and facilitate successful implementations.<\/strong> Isle is a neutral third party, acting as a bridge between the end-user and the vendor, while also providing technical and trial management expertise and guidance. A successful TRI trial significantly reduces the lag time between successful trials and expanded implementation by the end user.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n