Two Milwaukee economic development initiatives, the Mid-West Energy Research Consortium and The Water Council, announced Thursday that they will participate in a joint energy-water project.
“You need energy to move water and you need energy to heat and cool water,” said Dean Amhaus, president and CEO of The Water Council. “So there’s a relationship between the two.”
M-WERC and The Water Council will combine resources over the next nine months to develop an Energy-Water Nexus Roadmap. The project will look at Milwaukee’s strengths in water technology and the energy, power and control industry cluster and what global water-energy problems exist and how business and academia in the region can address those problems.
“The primary objective is to create a joint strategic plan that leverages our organizations as well as the regional resources to position us as the leader in this emerging market,” said Amhaus. “Our region is uniquely qualified to lead due to high concentration of water and energy companies and research already taking place in this area.”
“Our region’s rich history and current make up of world class companies involved in the energy power and control and water industry, put us in a position to be the world leaders in developing opportunities in the energy water nexus,” said MWERC executive director and CEO Alan Perlstein.
The project will include four joint workshops between both organizations and outside experts. The first workshop will be held on Oct. 20 and the final workshop will conclude in late March or April next year. The final report and joint plan will be concluded by June 1, 2016.
M-WERC is focused on the growth and economic competitiveness of the energy, power and control Industry cluster across the Midwest. It was founded in 2009 by three universities and four industrial companies to focus on conducting collaborative and transformative energy-related seed research. It has grown to more than 75 members with an annual budget of more than $1 million.
The Water Council was established in 2009 by Milwaukee-area businesses, education and government leaders. The non-profit organization, consisting of more than 170 members, is linking together water technology companies, water entrepreneurs, academic research programs and water professionals.
