Podcasts about water sector

How did HG Ventures quietly become one of the most active water tech investors on the planet, without even calling itself a water VC?HG Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of The Heritage Group, a 100-year-old, family-owned Indianapolis conglomerate active in asphalt, quarries, environmental services and specialty chemicals. With $350M in assets, the fund deploys around $50M a year across 41 portfolio companies and 7 sectors, and ranks 5th globally in water tech by deal count despite water being only 18% of its thesis.Ginger Rothrock holds a PhD in chemistry from UNC Chapel Hill, co-founded the NASDAQ-listed pharmaceutical company Liquidia, was promoted to Managing Director of HG Ventures in December 2025, and is a Global Corporate Venturing Rising Star and Kauffman Fellow with deep expertise in industrial water, industrial wastewater treatment, and corporate venture capital in cleantech.

The First Water Sector Unicorn Wants to IPO. But Wall Street kinda forgot how to buy water... Early-stage water tech funding quadrupled in seven years. Private equity's share of water M&A doubled in a decade, with a record 165 PE-led acquisitions in a single year. The bench of PE-owned water platforms grew from 42 companies in 2015 to nearly 600 in 2025. And the sector just minted its first twice-unicorn - Gradiant - with a Series E at a $2 billion valuation on Day 1 of the Global Water Summit 2026! So, will Gradiant IPO?Four all-time highs at once... but the fifth dimension - the public market - went the other way. IPOs in the 2020s are a pale echo of the 2010. So I flew to Madrid to ask the people building the machine (the VCs, the PE platforms, the strategics, the bankers, the entrepreneurs) a single question: is this closed-loop water-capital machine a feature of a mature sector, or a $300 billion pressure cooker about to crack?

The winners of the sixth Water Breakthrough Challenge, part of the OFWAT £600 million Water Innovation Fund, have just been announced. In this episode, Hannah Muirhead joins Niki to discuss some of winners. Together, they highlight the emerging themes in innovation in the UK water sector, and some of the most exciting concepts. Find out more about the OFWAT Innovation Fund here Credits Presented & Produced by Niki RoachExecutive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb LimitedWith thanks to Alastair ChisholmHonorary Executive Producer Jane Boland

On April 30, 2026, CRH plc (NYSE: CRH) announced a $700 million agreement to acquire Axius Water from KKR and XPV Water Partners - instantly making the Irish-American building materials giant one of the largest water infrastructure players in North America. If CRH acquires Axius, what's next?Most investors missed it, so I thought I'd decode it! Here are the 10 things you need to see.So you got it, CRH acquires Axius. Here's the deal in 30 seconds: • Buyer: CRH plc - a $77B market cap building materials company most water investors don't track • Target: Axius Water - a wastewater treatment platform built by KKR and XPV Water Partners through a multi-year roll-up • Price: $700M (reported) • Sellers: KKR (Global Impact Fund) and XPV Water Partners • Strategic logic: bolts wastewater treatment onto CRH's existing water infrastructure portfolio (Hydro International, Oldcastle Infrastructure) What's actually new here - and why it matters for water investors: 00:00 - On your Bingo Card? 02:30 #1: The Cast07:35 #2: The Substance11:40 #3: The Number16:23 #4: The Timing20:54 #5: The Macro Reality24:40 #6: The Credibility28:26 #7: Inside the Platform32:28 #8: The Synergy Story35:17 #9: The Risks39:58 #10: The Sector Signal

Every analyst, every think tank, every consulting deck has an opinion on AI's water footprint (and overall on AI and Water)But nobody bothered to ask the people actually watching the videos, posting the comments, and shaping the narrative. You'd need to be mad to do that, right?So I read 2,540 of them.

Everyone says AI is drinking the planet dry, right? Well, the numbers say your morning coffee uses 29,600× more water than a ChatGPT prompt! In this episode, I sit down with Alex Passini to pressure-test the dominant narrative around AI's water footprint - and what we found completely flips the story the media is telling. Here's what most "AI water crisis" headlines miss: → A single ChatGPT prompt uses roughly 16 milliliters of water. One cup of coffee uses ~140 liters when you count the beans. That's a 29,600× gap. → Of the water a hyperscale data center consumes, ~75% isn't used by AI at all — it's used upstream for the energy that powers it. Blame the grid, not the GPU. → One banana = ~6,250 ChatGPT prompts. One almond = ~12 prompts. The water-per-prompt math is rounding-error territory next to your lunch. → Florida already reuses 800 million gallons/day of treated wastewater. Data centers aren't the threat - they're an accelerant for the water reuse capex the sector has been waiting twenty years for. If you're an investor trying to figure out whether AI's water story is a real thesis or a media artifact, this episode gives you the framework (and the numbers) to decide.

Who Buys the First Data Center Water Company? And When Does the Repricing Start? Data center water treatment is a $1.1 billion market growing nearly 15% per year, with 60% of spending recurring - generating an "infinite money glitch" for the righty designed water tech companies. So, strategic buyers, private equity sponsors, and VC-backed platforms are racing to consolidate water tech expertise. Meanwhile, hyperscalers spending $50 billion a year on infrastructure have made zero water acquisitions... for how long?

What Is the Real Water Problem Behind AI Data Centers - and Where Is the $1.3 Billion Opportunity? AI Water seems to concern everybody, while data center water treatment is the fastest-growing industrial water vertical in the world - $1.35 billion in 2025, growing at 13.3% per year. But the media is chasing the wrong story. The real problem isn't consumption volume — it's the concentrated industrial wastewater that cooling towers produce. This episode maps the opportunity most investors are missing. A

Why Did a Broke Football Club Owned by Gucci's Family Invest Millions in Water Reuse? Stade Rennais, the French football club owned by the Pinault family behind Kering (Gucci, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta...), buried a €1.5 million closed-loop water system under its renovated La Piverdière training complex in February 2025. This investment, during French football's worst financial crisis, reveals a widening gap between what water costs and what water is truly worth - using water reuse as its vehicle.

How Much Does The USA Really Need to Fix Its Water Infrastructure? And Why Is Nobody Talking About the Real Number? (Hint: the US EPA has it wrong!)I built a bottom-up predictive model spanning 32 federal datasets, 433,000 water systems, and 15.1 million regulatory violations to determine the true cost of bringing US water infrastructure back to shape. The answer: $3.9 trillion over twenty years (that's three times the EPA's official estimate of $1.25 trillion)

Iranian-linked hackers warn of possible “irreparable” attacks on U.S. water systems. CISA pushes urgent fixes for a critical Citrix flaw. The Dutch Finance Ministry takes systems offline after a breach. Space Force may scrap next-gen GPS control software. Attackers exploit a Fortinet server bug. Lloyds exposes customer transaction data. AI and regulation reshape cyber careers. The FTC settles with a dating app over data sharing. Sam Rubin, SVP, Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 Consulting and Threat Intelligence, discusses Iran's shift to identity weaponization. Wikipedia wrestles with a wayward writer. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest We will be sharing a series of interviews we held at RSAC 2026 over the next few weeks. Sam Rubin, SVP, Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 Consulting and Threat Intelligence, discussing Iran's shift to identity weaponization. If you enjoyed this conversation, tune in here to listen to the full conversation. Selected Reading Iranian Cyberthreats Test US Infrastructure Defenses (BankInfo Security) CISA tells federal agencies to patch Citrix NetScaler bug by Thursday (The Record) Dutch Ministry of Finance takes treasury systems offline amid cyber incident investigation (Security Affairs) After 16 years and $8 billion, the military's new GPS software still doesn't work (Ars Technica) Exploitation of Critical Fortinet FortiClient EMS Flaw Begins (SecurityWeek) Lloyds IT Glitch Exposed Data of Nearly 500,000 Banking Customers (Infosecurity Magazine) SANS Research: The Cybersecurity Talent Shortage Narrative Is Wrong. The Real Crisis Is Skills, and AI Just Rewrote the List. (Yahoo Finance) FTC Takes Action Against Match and OkCupid for Deceiving Users by Sharing Personal Data with Third Party (FTC) Business Briefing (N2K Pro)  An AI Agent Was Banned From Creating Wikipedia Articles, Then Wrote Angry Blogs About Being Banned (404 Media) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry's most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can Europe's Sewage Plants Replace Russian Gas? (aka: the €1.9 Billion Biomethane Opportunity) Europe's wastewater treatment plants are sitting on a massive untapped energy reserve. With the right upgrades, roughly 1,900 facilities across Europe could produce 13.4 billion cubic meters of biomethane per year — matching Russia's remaining pipeline gas deliveries in 2024. Let me break down the economics, the technology, and the investment landscape driving this shift.

How Did Pierre Côté Build Two Unicorn Water Technologies - and Why Is He Now Betting on Algae? Pierre Côté is arguably the most successful water technology inventor alive. With over 100 patents across four decades, he created ZeeWeed (the membrane that launched the $3.63 billion MBR market) and co-invented ZeeLung (anchoring the ~$500 million MABR market). Now in his seventies, he's co-founded AlgaFilm Technologies to tackle nutrient removal with algae biofilm.

Can 4 Volts of Electricity Replace 60 Bars of Pressure in Seawater Desalination? ilion Water Technologies is a 2025 spinout from the Physics Laboratory of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. Their VIRO (Voltage-Induced Reverse Osmosis) technology claims to replace the high-pressure pump train in seawater desalination with an alternating electric field applied to engineered composite membranes, operating at atmospheric pressure.

The government is promising a complete overhaul of the water system, which it says will protect households from disrupted water supplies and bring in tougher oversight of water companies. The new water white paper, which paves the way for the Water Reform Bill, proposes the abolition of Ofwat to create a new regulator. It promises new reforms bringing councils, water companies, farmers, and developers together to deliver joined-up local plans to tackle river pollution, water resources and housing growth. We ask the Rivers Trust what it means for agriculture and the health of our rivers.All week we're talking about winter feed - from simple grass to complex proteins. Some farmers have already used up the forage which they grew to feed their animals over the winter. We visit a dairy farmer in Herefordshire who's had to buy in maize to feed his livestock and reduced his herd numbers because there's a shortage of fodder.Glyphosate is a commonly used but controversial weedkiller. Councils use it kill off weeds and it's used in regenerative farming to kill off cover crops, planted to help protect and nourish soils over the winters, before planting the main crop. In the USA courts have ruled that the chemicals in it are linked to cancer. In the UK, the government's reviewing whether it should still be allowed. We speak to farmers, scientists and campaigners about its future.Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Why Are Water Testing Methods Dangerously Outdated - And What's the Fix?Tired of stitching together Crunchbase, overpriced reports, and "a guy who knows a guy"? I built the fix. 50 Founder Seats. Join the waitlist: leviathandata.io

How Did H2O Innovation Build a Water Empire Through 18+ Acquisitions (M&A) and What Happens Now Under Private Equity?More #water insights? Get my free mapping of 267 water investors here: https://investors.dww.show

How is Cycle H2O (a new Water VC) De-Risking Early Stage Water Tech Investment?More #water insights? Get my free mapping of 267 water investors here: https://investors.dww.show

What Wastewater Products Can You Actually Buy for Christmas?

How Will Ovivo Rebuild to Full Size in 10 Years After the Ecolab Deal?

How Is Aqua Membranes Scaling 3D-Printed Water Membranes Spacers from Garage Startup to 200,000 Square Foot Manufacturing Facility? Let's find out!More #water insights? Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinewalter1/

Can Cloud Harvesting Revolutionize Water Production? A Deep Dive into AirHES Technology

The Environmental Protection Agency is deepening its work with water utilities on cyber security issues. The EPA has recently launched a program to scan for Internet exposed devices at water and wastewater facilities. That work comes amid rising concerns about nation state hackers targeting water systems and other critical infrastructure for more Federal News Network's Justin Doubleday is here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How Does Water-as-a-Service Drive Billion-Dollar Exits in Infrastructure Investment?

How Can We Afford to Remove PFAS from Our Environment When Treatment Costs Exceed Global GDP?

How Do 32+ Electrochemical Water Oxidation Technologies Compete for PFAS Destruction Market Share? Listen to this!More #water insights? Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinewalter1/

What's to remember from WEFTEC 2025? Here are my 5 Water Tech picks, 3 Marketing Tips, the State of the Union on the Water/AI Nexus, and much more. Wanna get 3 Days at WEFTEC summarized in 70 Minutes? Listen to this!More #water insights? Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinewalter1/

Will we die young & rich or live older & less rich? That is why Henk Ovink is formal: We will fail on climate change if we fail on water. Wanna know why? Listen to this! More #water insights? Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinewalter1/

How did SKion Water turn a $142M "apple tree" into $1.8B gold with the carve out of Ovivo's Electronics division to Ecolab? Let's find out! My best water tech analysis straight to your inbox: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=6884833968848474112

Aquatech just acquired Koch Technology Solutions' direct lithium extraction business - Here are my 3 key takeaways! #️⃣ All the Links Mentioned in this Video #️⃣ Aquatech's press release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aquatech-acquires-kochs-direct-lithium-extraction-business-integrating-li-pro-dle-into-the-pearl-technology-platform-302558347.html My conversation with Devesh Sharma: https://youtu.be/inlyb_aMtzw?si=z1uTHU6GlRvmuKPl My full exploration of the Lithium World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeZJpBySIQo&t=1s

Wanna know why 86% of Investors treat water tech like Portfolio Insurance? Watch this! More #WaterTech insights? Get my free water investor database: https://investors.dww.show

Making water from thin air at 1¢/liter? Listen to this!More #WaterTech insights? Subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=6884833968848474112

Africa Melane speaks to Dr Sean Phillips, Director-General of the Department of Water and Sanitation, about the sweeping reforms aimed at improving South Africa’s water and wastewater treatment systems. They discuss the lessons from past successes, the role of external Water Services Providers, and how the changes will boost accountability, reduce water losses, and improve services for communities. Presenter John Maytham is an actor and author-turned-talk radio veteran and seasoned journalist. His show serves a round-up of local and international news coupled with the latest in business, sport, traffic and weather. The host’s eclectic interests mean the program often surprises the audience with intriguing book reviews and inspiring interviews profiling artists. A daily highlight is Rapid Fire, just after 5:30pm. CapeTalk fans call in, to stump the presenter with their general knowledge questions. Another firm favourite is the humorous Thursday crossing with award-winning journalist Rebecca Davis, called “Plan B”. Thank you for listening to a podcast from Afternoon Drive with John Maytham Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays from 15:00 and 18:00 (SA Time) to Afternoon Drive with John Maytham broadcast on CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/BSFy4Cn or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/n8nWt4x Subscribe to the CapeTalk Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/sbvVZD5 Follow us on social media: CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wondering How to Extract Lithium Without Mining or Massive Water Use? Listen to this!More #WaterTech insights? Subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=6884833968848474112

Ever wondered why Smart Utilities Let Their Assets Break? Then listen to this: It will show you how Physics beats AI in Asset Management! More #water insights? Subscribe to my newsletter, for free! https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=6884833968848474112

What if Google had the solution to save 1 billion people... and just threw it away? Let's find out! Google spent 4 YEARS secretly developing a device that pulls safe drinking water from thin air using only sunlight. They proved it worked. They proved it could help over 1 BILLION people without clean water. Then they just... quit and open-sourced everything in 2021.

PFAS destruction for a lower cost than PFAS removal: Transformational or Questionable? Let's find out! For more water tech insights, subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6884833968848474112/

What if electron-rich Water Gas Molecules could target and destroy PFAS... for cheaper than PFAS removal technologies? Check it out! For more water tech insights, subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6884833968848474112/

What's the Water Secret that 99% of Climate Investors are Missing? Listen to This! Wanna dive deeper into water investment? Get my FREE exhaustive list of water tech investors (that cut 2+ checks) here: https://investors.dww.show/

3 Radical Approaches Solving Water Scarcity Today, in just one video! More #water insights? Subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6884833968848474112/

Explore the opportunities and considerations of AI in the water sector in this special episode of Engineering Reimagined, recorded at the Ozwater'25 conference. Aurecon’s Dr Ryan Signor moderated a panel discussion with guests including the Honourable Karlene Maywald, Pierre Pauliac, Amanda Lewry and Dave Mackenzie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bluefield Senior Analyst Antonio del Olmo joins host Reese Tisdale to share insights from Bluefield's recent research across European countries, including Italy, the Netherlands, France, and Spain. This episode explores the evolving landscape of Europe's water sector—from climate shocks to regulatory shakeups—and what it all means for utilities, investors, and technology vendors. The conversation highlights what specific regions are focusing on, the biggest challenges they're facing, and how water sector stakeholders are responding. Bluefield's water experts unpack key trends, including: Why Europe's seemingly mature water sector is facing a wave of disruption—from climate shocks and regulatory pressure to investment churn and digital transformation How cracks are emerging in energy reliability, water loss, and the digital divide across countries The role of EU directives versus national implementation in shaping infrastructure strategy Where the biggest opportunities lie across digital water, reuse, resilience, and asset renewal How French giants like Veolia, Suez, and Saur are shifting strategies to lead in this evolving landscape Why PFAS regulations, sludge treatment requirements, and infrastructure M&A may be the next big catalysts If you enjoy listening to The Future of Water Podcast, please tell a friend or colleague, and if you haven't already, please click to follow this podcast wherever you listen. If you'd like to be informed of water market news, trends, perspectives and analysis from Bluefield Research, subscribe to Waterline, our weekly newsletter published each Wednesday. Related Research & Analysis: Italy Water & Wastewater Municipal Market: Trends, Drivers, and Forecasts The Netherlands Water & Wastewater Municipal Market: Trends, Drivers, and Forecasts Spain's Blackouts Strain Water Utilities

Wanna know why Big Pharma is Knocking on This French Startup's Door? Listen to this!More #water insights? Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinewalter1/

I analyzed 139 publicly traded water companies and discovered a simple formula that predicts their valuations using just three parameters: position on the "boring-to-hype spectrum," percentage of digital revenue, and percentage of recurring revenue. This formula reveals systematic market mispricing that creates 8-25% annual return opportunities by exploiting Wall Street's ignorance of water industry fundamentals. Wanna find out? Listen to this!More #water insights? Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinewalter1/

Wanna learn how to comply with PFAS Removal targets with the lowest risk and without breaking the bank? Listen to this!More #water insights? Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinewalter1/

Is this the end of Mineral Water? Or just the end of Nestlé Waters? Listen to this!More #water insights? Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinewalter1/

Why is a mildly successful Water Tech company valued at almost twice the S&P500 M&A average? And how is that link to Private Equity's appetite for water companies? Let's find out!More #water insights? Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinewalter1/

Why is the Global Water Summit the Davos of Water? Watch this video and you'll find out! More #water insights? Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinewalter1/

PFAS testing in Water takes 1-3 months according to the AWWA. How can FREDsense make it happen in 5 Days instead without cutting corners? Listen to this!More #water insights? Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinewalter1/