Fresno’s Water, Energy and Technology (WET) Center joined the best of the best technology, innovation and business development entities at this year’s WBT (World’s Best Technology) Innovation Marketplace, held October 24 – 26 at the San Diego Convention Center.
The event showcases vetted and mentored companies and technologies emanating from top universities, labs, research institutions and the private sector from across the country and around the globe. Participating technologies, each supported by private funding and/or federal R&D grants are selected by – and presented to – over 100 seasoned venture investors and Fortune 500 licensing scouts representing a variety of industries.
CVBI CEO Kirk Nagamine attended the 3 day event, partnering with WET Center stakeholder, A. Wigs Mendoza, Program Manager, Business and Technology Group, Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California, District. So Cal MWD is one of the largest water districts in the nation, and like the WET Center, it aggressively pursues innovative methods to increase efficiencies.
“It’s a great opportunity to stand side-by-side with entities like the MWD So Cal who see and understand the necessity and benefits of developing innovative ways to think about and use one of our most precious resources: water,” says Kirk Nagamine.
For the first time in the history of WBT, the event featured the “iHub Pavilion” showcasing the 12 California State innovation hubs. The WET Center is the cornerstone of the CalValleyTech iHub – the only iHub in the Central Valley and the only iHub to focus on Water, Energy and Ag Technology.
While at WBT, Nagamine spent quality time promoting WET Center companies and engaging entities from across the state and nation in the Blue Tech Valley, an initiative designed to establish the Central Valley of California as a hub of water and energy.
According to Henrik Laursen, Director of Grundfos Innovation Center and Chair of the BlueTechValley initiative, The BlueTechValley, much like Napa Valley or the Silicon Valley, represents the entire ecosystem that can support a particular industry, in our case, Blue Technology. This ecosystem of assets and resources makes the Central Valley the perfect place for water, energy and Ag technologist to nest.
“We have size of the regional market as well as the perfect set of circumstances to help accelerate bringing cutting edge technologies to market,” says Laursen.
The iHub Pavilion showcased all 12 California State designated Innovation Hubs (iHub’s) and represented the State’s strength in innovation.
For more information on the iHub initiative, click here.
For information on the BlueTechValley, click here.
