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.
Make sure the technology aligns with the goals of the Reservoir you are applying to, such as climate change mitigation or advanced industrial water treatment. It must be possible to define measurable trial success criteria with objective KPIs. Ensure a specific request is made of the technology user if the trial is a success. For example, a commitment to a purchase. This agreement should be part of the trial and purchase contract between you and the potential customer. The trial and purchase agreement must include the right for Isle to receive results and for you to publicise the Trial in collaboration with your customer.
We don’t help identify potential customers as part of the Trial Reservoir. You will need to be in conversation with at least one potential customer before you join the program. However, you will not initially need firm commitment from the customer(s). Isle can help with key account identification and market entry as a separate service offering.
Isle doesn’t actively assist with your fundraising activities through the Trial Reservoir, but we can help with fundraising as a separate service offering.
The maximum loan amount available is usually GBP100,000 or USD150,000. The exact amount depends on the duration you will hold the funds for and the outcome of our due diligence.
Our brief due diligence process covers technology, the vendor, and the end-user to inform a risk assessment.
The Reservoirs are part-funded by Isle’s profits and run on a non-profit basis, so there is a cost recovery fee. This is usually in the range of $1000 – $1500 USD per month of the trial set-up and delivery period. The cost varies depending on how much support the trial needs. There is also interest on any loan you take, but the interest rate is only applied after the agreed repayment date. This is a date you and Isle will agree together. It is set for after the trial evaluation and reporting period at the end of the practical work for the trial.
The rate is set at a specific amount and typically tied to inflation (typically inflation is +5%, approximately).
Yes, the loan can be repaid through instalments. We can come to a mutual agreement as to how you want your payment plan to be structured.
Yes. Although the Reservoirs aim to reduce the number of trial vendors need to make a sale, it is possible to use multiple Reservoir loans. Typically this occurs as one loan after another rather than two loans at the same time. Usually, it is to enable the technology vendor to extend into a new geography or new market sector.
Let us know, if you need some help and didn’t find an answer to your question.
