The Leaders Innovation Forum for Technology (LIFT) — a joint initiative of the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) — has announced a new online platform called LIFT Link aimed at bringing innovation into practice for the water community.
LIFT Link connects innovators with utilities and contains expert-vetted profiles of new technologies across different stages of development — emerging, pre-commercialized and newly commercialized. It helps users discover these innovative water technologies, connect with others in the water community with similar needs or desired expertise, and collaborate to share data and experience with industry peers.
LIFT Link currently contains nearly 100 approved technologies. The LIFT Technology Scan program identifies innovative technologies and submits them to an expert panel review consisting of consultants, academics and facility personnel who provide feedback on the underlying engineering and innovation.
A technology that is accepted into LIFT merits recommendation to the broader water community, given the technology’s current state of development. The LIFT Link platform contains up-to-date detailed information on each accepted technology. The platform then connects technology providers to a variety of stakeholders in the water sector, including municipal and industrial water, wastewater, stormwater agencies, technology providers, consultants, investors, federal agencies, NGOs and others.
Each detailed technology profile in LIFT Link explains how the technology functions, its applications and the next steps needed for deployment. Users can search for technologies by category or level of development on LIFT Link’s “Discover” page based on the needs of their facility. LIFT Link users can individualize their needs and interests on the site to isolate and identify technologies that would meet their needs.
Facility managers and operators can learn about innovations and the ways a specific technology could benefit their facility directly from technology providers. End users receive updates on testing and evaluations in real time and can view presentations and case studies from technology providers. Furthermore, users can connect directly with them for more information.
The LIFT Link “Needs Forum” is a communications resource where utilities and other organizations can share their technical interests and unmet challenges. Other users can indicate when they have a similar need, creating a community around that need, which helps identify how pervasive a need is and sends a clear signal to the market. The groups that share the same needs can directly communicate with one another to form collaborations for research projects and proposals, as well as to pilot a technology in order to mitigate the risks and costs of doing it independently.
Users can also contact technology providers directly to facilitate a conversation about technology pilots, demonstrations, early adoption and follow their progress.
Technologies that are interested in gaining exposure through LIFT Link are required to submit a free LIFT Technology Scan application. Access to LIFT Link is free to WE&RF subscribers. If you are not a WE&RF subscriber and would like to view the innovative technologies or join the discussions, access can be purchased for $100/person annually.
For more information about LIFT Link, contact Dr. Aaron Fisher at afisher@werf.org.
