TracWater selected as the first ever Australian company in an ImagineH2O Asia cohort
by Alex Morrison
The Australian cloud-based water robotics company TracWater is one of 12 companies selected in the Imagine H2O Asia Cohort 3. Chosen from a field of 103 applicants from 23 countries by a judging panel of some of the international leaders in the global water industry, TracWater is the only Australian company to achieve this recognition.
Imagine H2O Asia is the first specialised accelerator exclusively focused on scaling water technology start-ups across South and Southeast Asia. Since 2018, Imagine H2O Asia has provided the resources to develop and deploy 20 global start-ups from the organisation’s hub in Singapore. The program is led by Imagine H2O, a San Francisco-based non-profit, and supported by Enterprise Singapore, SUEZ, Xylem, Kurita, and PUB – Singapore’s National Water Agency.
The recognition of TracWater cements its reputation as a global leader in cloud-based robotics to monitor water quality. TracWater robots are battery-powered, plug-and-play and wireless for water quality measurement throughout the distributed water pipeline network. The robots are tightly integrated to cloud-based data management, providing customers with real-time visibility and predictive analysis.
TracWater Managing Director Len McKelvey said the recognition validated the work the company has been doing for the past 12 years.
“When we started out down this path, there’s no doubt we were disruptors in the water and power industries,” McKelvey said.
“But we’re already seeing that cloud-based robotics will soon be reaching into every sector of these industries, and hopefully this is a wake-up call on what work is being done at home in these fields.
“This is a company that manufactures its technology in Australia, is owned by Australians, is operated by Australian resources and is based in Australia.”
TracWater has been granted six Australian and international patents for its water quality and cloud data technologies in the past five years, the most of any Australian company. These technologies allow users to rapidly understand what is happening to water disinfection in underground pipes and to accurately predict what will happen for water quality, usage and assets.
“COVID-19 has shown how dynamic cloud technology is, and how it’s rapidly becoming essential in any modern workplace,” McKelvey said.
“Any water utility today who has not already widely adopted cloud-based real time technology to support operations is going to be chasing rather than leading.”
TracWater’s inclusion in Imagine H2O Asia means they will be showcasing their solutions at Singapore International Water Week 2022. TracWater will also collaborate with Imagine H2O Asia and its growing customer network to test, market and deploy their real-time water quality robots in markets across the wider region.
“While we still have many of the same core tight group of employees who have been with us since or near the start, the global recognition of our technology means we have been able to bring in some of the globe’s best talent,” McKelvey said.
“In the end, Australian companies need Australian support. Without a more transparent and favourable treatment in supporting Australian manufacturing and research, our water industry isn’t going to be the open shop it needs to be to compete on the global stage.”
