The Trial Reservoirs are sources of loan funding to accelerate the adoption of technologies which can help the water sector and adjacent industries adopt new methods and technologies.
To get involved please submit your details here or get in touch at trialreservoir@isleutilities.com
Isle Utilities has launched five initiatives with the aim of accelerating the adoption of innovation. The Reservoir initiatives are funded by Isle Group and additional sponsors, and present technology companies with a pool of loan funding available for trials, providing a risk-free opportunity to offer trials to potential end-users.
The Trial Reservoirs provide loan funding to technology companies looking to embark on trials with their potential customers to achieve these individual goals:
The Climate Change Trial Reservoir was the first Trial Reservoir programme, launched by Isle in November 2021. It is a global programme for technologies that mitigate climate change whether directly through lowering greenhouse gas emissions or indirectly through energy savings. The end user can be a water utility or a water user in any other industry. They can be anywhere in the world, and the technology company can also be anywhere in the world..
The Trial Reservoirs would not be possible without our amazing sponsors:-
Launched in December 2022 and co-funded by IDB Lab (the Innovation Laboratory of the inter-American Development Bank Group), the Brazil Trial Reservoir provides a reservoir of loan funding to commercial-stage technology companies, allowing them to undertake trials with Brazilian water utilities. The Brazil Trial Reservoir is dedicated to technologies that will help water utilities in Brazil serve their customers better and lower their environmental footprints. The utilities must be able to procure the technologies from a Brazilian supplier
The Energy Reservoir follows the same loan funding principles as all Reservoir initiatives. Loans are available to innovative commercial-stage technology companies looking to enhance and scale new technologies to advance the energy sector. The Energy Reservoir is a way to accelerate the adoption of new technologies in the power supply industry by industry supporting trials to lower dependence on non-renewables and to help integrate renewables into the grid.
The Advanced Industrial Reservoir focuses on advanced industrial water treatment solutions addressing resource recovery, emerging contaminants, waste-to-energy, circular economy, and decentralization. The technology company and the end user can be in any country and any industry.
The Minority-Led US Utilities Trial Reservoir is dedicated to supporting trials by minority-led utilities in the USA, and US utility trials that will help provide water and sanitation services to minority communities in need. This Reservoir will support any technology which addresses the host utility’s problems.
The Trial Reservoirs fund technology adoption to accelerate the uptake of innovations. There are different Reservoirs of funding that exist to achieve slightly different goals. This FAQ is not a legally binding document but sets out some of the most commonly asked questions and answers applicable to all the Trial Reservoirs.
No. The only contract you need to sign is your trial and purchase agreement (or conditional purchase agreement) with your technology supplier.
No, the technology vendor takes out the loan.
We don’t have a prescribed template because every end-user has slightly different needs. As well, the Reservoir is designed to accommodate a variety of business models. These include asset transfers, service level agreements and offtake agreements.
It must be possible to define measurable trial success criteria for the trial, including objective key performance indicators (KPIs). The decision to implement the technology depends on whether the trial achieves the KPIs.
There must be a clear ‘ask’ of you as the customer if the trial is a success. This includes a commitment to procure something from the technology vendor. In turn, this must be described in the trial and purchase agreement / conditional purchase agreement between you and your technology supplier.
The trial and purchase agreement must include the right for Isle to receive results, and, if the trial is a success, to publicise the Trial in collaboration with you and your technology supplier.
If, despite everyone’s best efforts, the trial does not meets its KPIs, you have no obligation to purchase anything. Furthermore, the technology vendor doesn’t have to repay the Reservoir loan.
We will only publicise trials that end in success.
The Reservoir adheres to standard procurement regulations and allows for comparative trials. It is possible for an end-user to trial more than one technology using the Reservoir.
The level of commitment depends on the size and cost of the trial. The financial terms between you and the technology developer must be sensible, representing the true value of the purchase and enabling the technology vendor to repay the loan with a sustainable margin.
Our commitment to professional integrity is key. Additionally, our reputation, as well as that of the Trial Reservoir, would suffer significantly if we allowed unsuitable technologies to be implemented.
Let us know, if you need some help and didn’t find an answer to your question.
