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 The
Claude Laval Water and Energy Technology Center (WET Center) at
California State University, Fresno is a well-known generator of
regional water- and energy-related businesses. Now, it’s also a partner
with an incubator in Israel doing much the same thing and recently was
presented as a model program at an international symposium in France.
The WET Center was established in 2006 on the Fresno State campus as
part of a partnership between the university’s International Center for
Water Technology (ICWT) and the Central Valley Business Incubator. The
goal is to provide space for up to five new businesses at a time to
develop in the energy and water fields.
Water and energy were identified as vital needs in the central San
Joaquin Valley, but also as potential sources of new, well-paid jobs in
the region with worldwide marketing potential. To help underscore that
global connection, the ICWT in 2007 hosted an international water
technology symposium at Fresno State and already is planning another for
May 2010.
“Through many years of university-industry partnerships, we have been
able to cultivate an international reputation for innovation and
resourcefulness in our water technology research,” said Dr. David
Zoldoske.
He is director of the ICWT and the Center for Irrigation Technology at
Fresno State and recently was appointed as the California State
University system’s top water-policy adviser.
“The WET Center is just one more way our campus turns our regional needs
into opportunities to help at home and far away, too,” Zoldoske said.
Most recently, the WET Center in Fresno and the Kinrot Incubator near
the Sea of Galilee, signed a cooperative agreement.
Kinrot CEO Assaf Barnea was enthusiastic about the partnership’s
proposal for joint research and development based on innovative
technology. But he said a key component is marketing water technology.
Barnea said, “The American incubator is like an industrial park, and the
firms in our portfolio that want to meet other firms will find partners
willing to listen there.
“We'll join in meeting potential investors,” Barnea added. “The water
technology market is very conservative, and you have to form close ties
in order to make sales."
Kinrot has another agreement that allows Israeli start-up companies to
try out pilot projects using Los Angeles Department of Water & Power
facilities.
In early December, Central Valley Business Incubator CEO Craig Scharton
made a presentation about the WET Center at the Water4health® symposium
in Lyon, France. The gathering’s goal was promoting partnerships
throughout the water sector by bringing them together to learn about a
range of innovative solutions to some of the world’s water challenges.
“Water requires conscientious supervision, management and care," said
Scharton. "One of many critical resources, water is now beginning to
attract the attention its importance deserves.”
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