How Is Research on Water Technologies Funded?

The severity of the global water crisis has encouraged people and organizations from all over the globe to devise innovative, forward-thinking solutions. The world’s leading climate scientists and the average Joe alike seem to be invested in saving the planet from an all-but-certain fate, with foundations, academic institutions, private enterprise, and governments all stepping up in this race against the clock.

There are certainly many ideas and groundbreaking innovations floating around, but they can’t come to fruition without funding. Obtaining this funding tends to prove challenging -- it’s never easy to acquire the millions needed to get an idea off the ground -- and the extensive capital, research, and development involved in water technologies require large amounts of money. Since innovators fail to launch without this funding, it makes finding the right funding partners that much more important. Where does this funding come from, and why is it so difficult to obtain?

Where does funding come from?

Funding for water technologies comes from four primary sources:

1. Government grants. Governments can spend billions or even trillions of dollars per year on defense, social welfare programs, and more, but some countries set aside funds as grants to help support private sector initiatives to save or better utilize water. In the U.S., for example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers grants for projects that can lead to “sustainable solutions to 21st century water resource problems.” Across all environmental fields, the EPA annually awards more than $4 billion in grants.

2. Foundation grants. By their very definition, foundations exist to offer money to entities making strides in certain fields. One leading water-focused foundation, for example, runs a program through which it funds projects that can decrease the barriers to water access in a variety of regions. Another foundation awarded $750,000 in 2016 to projects focused on sustainable water access, conservation, and reuse.

3. Universities. Throughout the world, universities lead the way in vital scientific research and development. Universities use their resources to fund additional research outside their walls as well, with one public university recently offering one grant of $50,000 and two of $5,000 for projects dedicated to water technologies. As with another prominent grant program at a prominent American Ivy League school, some grants require that the research is localized to the university.

4. Companies and corporations. Many companies and corporations run foundations through which they fund environmental research. Soda brands, for example, provide extensive funding for projects that expand water access to communities currently lacking it. Other companies invest in water technology startups directly, bypassing any foundations they operate – in fact, this funding source has become among the most prominent for water technology startups in recent years.

What types of projects are funded?

In general, governments, foundations, universities, and companies fund the following types of water-related projects:

1. Water conservation and reuse projects. These projects aim to minimize the burden that humans place on existing water sources and replenish depleted bodies of water.

2. Clean water and sanitation projects. These projects focus on ensuring that communities lacking proper water sanitation receive it.

3. Habitat conservation and protection. These projects preserve Earth’s ecosystems and restore the populations of organisms that live in water-based habitats.

4. Sustainable agriculture and fisheries. These projects seek to minimize the immense impacts of agriculture and fisheries on the global water supply.

5. Watershed restoration. These projects work to restore the ecosystem to its natural condition following human overuse or natural disasters.

6. Water generation projects. These projects include technologies such as atmospheric water generation (AWG) that create new water without accessing groundwater, surface water, and rainwater.

The struggle to secure funding

Despite its availability, funding for water technologies can be difficult to obtain. One need look no further than the EPA’s water technologies grant website to see a striking example: The EPA lists merely 19 grants among those either awarded in the last 10 years or currently open. Given the number of entities competing in just the AWG space, it stands to reason that across all six of the project types listed above, massive numbers of groups are competing for limited amounts of money. 

Even when water technology groups do successfully acquire funding, it doesn’t always fund the entire project. Consider the aforementioned public university grants in the amounts of $50,000 and $5,000. Water treatment facilities alone cost far more than these sums to properly maintain, and these plants are only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to water technologies that provide sustainable, clean drinking water for global populations. Certain water technology groups, though, can look elsewhere for funding.

You can fund water technologies, too

Many groups working to ensure clean water access for all living things – humans, animals, plants – have begun relying on funding sources outside their traditional routes. When governments, corporations, universities, and foundations fail to provide them with enough money for their projects, they turn to individual donors for funding. This shift puts the power in the hands of ordinary citizens, enabling anybody who wants to help fight the global water crisis to do so.

Oxydus is among the many water technology groups seeking money from individual donors. Click here to visit the Oxydus Wefunder page and learn how you can contribute to a permanent infrastructure that could help to provide clean water for all.