Polyaniline (PANI), an Israeli product that prevents biofouling in water equipment, is selected by The Water Council’s corporate sponsors as the winner of the spring 2021 Tech Challenge. The Water Council’s Tech Challenge connects water innovators with leading water technology companies, facilitating potential partnerships and helping new ideas and technologies gain exposure in the industry. The spring 2021 challenge sought solutions that reduce scale, corrosion and fouling for pipes, tanks, valves and other equipment that encounters water.
The challenge’s sponsors – A. O. Smith, Badger Meter and Watts Water Technologies –unanimously select PANI as the winner of the $10,000 prize. The innovative preparation and grafting method of PANI makes it a functional coating that prevents biofouling – the accumulation of biological material such as microorganisms and algae on surfaces – in water systems and accessories, according to the organization. It was reportedly created by Dr. Ran Y. Suckeveriene of Kinneret Academic College, Zemach, Israel.
Suckeveriene learned about The Water Council and Tech Challenge at an event through Partnership2Gether, a program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and the Jewish Agency for Israel designed to cultivate relationships, projects and professional programs between Milwaukee and its partner region, Sovev Kinneret in Israel.
PANI’s win is another example of The Water Council’s growing global connections, according to the organization. The Water Council says it has added seven European members so far this year. It is also currently renewing its memorandum of understanding with Catalan Water Partnership, one of several water organizations it aligns with around the globe.
For more information, visit: www.thewatercouncil.com
