Pipeline H2O Conducts Inaugural Demo Day and Announces 2017 Winners

Each Winner Receives $25,000

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May 30, 2017, 16:45 ET

HAMILTON, Ohio, May 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pipeline H2O, a water technology commercialization program managed by The Hamilton Mill, is pleased to announce the completion of its first cohort of startups. On Thursday, May 18, 2017, an audience of over 100 individuals consisting of investors, government innovators, university representatives and members of the #StartupCincy community gathered to be part of Pipeline H2O's inaugural Demo Day at Union Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio. Each member of Pipeline H2O's inaugural class presented on their breakthrough technologies and potential impact.

The inaugural class consisted of the following companies:

AguaClara (Ithaca, NY) is a social enterprise that designs non-electric municipal-scale water treatment technologies that are sustainable in underserved communities. Maysoon Sharif, Founder - [email protected]
ANDalyze (Champaign, IL) has developed DNA-enzyme sensors to bring real-time water testing to the field. It produces test results in a matter of minutes versus days. Steve Naylor, Director Product Management - [email protected]
kW River Hydroelectric (Hamilton, OH) has developed a patented micro-turbine device that produces energy from low-level dams, while minimizing environmental impact and making the river safer for recreational use. Paul Kling, Founder - [email protected]
PowerTech Water (Lexington, KY) has developed a technology platform to clean and purify water. The platform removes salts, corrosive minerals, and toxic materials without the need for costly membranes, high-pressure pumps, chemicals or any consumables. Cameron Lippert, Founder - [email protected]
Searen (Cincinnati, OH) is revolutionizing water-dependent industries with vacuum air-lift technology that is simple and versatile and harnesses the power of nature while streamlining water treatment. Emmanuel Briquet, Founder - [email protected]
WaterStep (Louisville, KY) has developed the "WOW" - "Water on Wheels" mobile unit that provides a rapid response mini-water treatment solution in the case of emergencies or disasters. Mark Hogg, Founder - [email protected]

Rahul Bawa, Chairman of Pipeline H2O and The Hamilton Mill, commented: "Each of these companies has been challenged and pushed throughout the program, and we are confident that they will change the world."

At the end of the Demo Day program, Pipeline H2O announced the winners of two $25,000 investments. The two selected companies were PowerTech Water and Searen. The winners were selected using the Village Capital Enterprise Framework and its Peer Review process. Throughout the program, the companies ranked each other across various factors such as team, customer validation, financials, scale and impact, product and return of capital. The final ranking was conducted on May 17, 2017.

Pipeline H2O was announced in September 2016 and received 66 applications from across 5 continents representing 14 different countries. The breakdown by continent is as follows:

Africa - 2
Asia - 11
Australia - 1
Europe - 3
North America - 49

Programming for the first Pipeline H2O cohort ran from February through May 2017 and introduced the selected startups to various value-add resources throughout the region. Pipeline H2O is part of the Village Capital Community network dedicated to innovation. Village Capital operates business development programs for early-stage entrepreneurs in agriculture, education, energy, financial inclusion, health and water. Cincinnati is one of five Village Capital Communities dedicated to innovation around water technologies.

Pipeline H2O was brought to Cincinnati through a partnership between several different organizations including Village Capital, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati Water Works, Confluence, the University of Cincinnati's water center, Xavier University's Center for Innovation, the City of Cincinnati, the City of Hamilton, Cintrifuse and The Hamilton Mill.

Antony Seppi, Pipeline H2O's Program Director, commented, "This inaugural class of Pipeline is outstanding and has exceeded our expectations. The progress that they have made from the first week through today is amazing and we anticipate that they will continue to lean on this region's rich water assets — assets in Hamilton, Cincinnati, Dayton — and other resources going forward. In fact, we know that some of them will be back to run pilot tests with local organizations — that is success."

Media Contact: Antony Seppi, 513-737-6543, [email protected]

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SOURCE The Hamilton Mill