Microplastic Solutions Win TWC’s Tech Challenge

Milwaukee, WI, Jan. 7, 2025 – The Water Council is pleased to announce the winners of our fall 2024 Tech Challenge, chosen by our participating sponsors to help solve real challenges in the water sector.

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 fall 2024 challenge sought solutions for the detection, treatment and removal of microplastics and nanoplastics.

Winners were selected from dozens of submissions from an astonishing 11 countries. The challenge’s sponsors, A. O. Smith Corporation, Badger Meter and Watts Water Technologies, chose the challenge topics and selected the winners to receive $10,000 prizes:

• Lucendi, Inc., based in Los Angeles, Calif., was selected for the microplastics detection category. The company develops AI-powered innovations for high-performance detection and characterization of micro-objects in liquids. Its Aqusens platform has been shown to automatically identify a variety of targets from microplastics to harmful organisms like giardia, cyanobacteria and toxic algae.
• PolyGone Systems, based in Princeton, N.J., was selected for the microplastics treatment and removal category. A Princeton University spinout, the company has developed an affordable, portable and environmentally friendly filtration system that captures microplastics below 1mm scale and can be applied to a wide range of water bodies, including rivers, lakes and wastewater effluents.

“Researchers are only beginning to understand the alarming scope and scale of microplastics in water, but the need for solutions is clear,” said Karen Frost, The Water Council vice president of economic development and innovation. “By connecting these innovators with water technology corporations, we help nourish solutions in the effort to fight water contamination.”

About The Water Council
The Water Council (TWC) is a global hub dedicated to solving critical water challenges by driving innovation in freshwater technology and advancing water stewardship. Built on more than a century of innovation, TWC has coalesced one of the most concentrated and mature water technology clusters in the world from its headquarters at the Global Water Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Recognizing the need for smarter and more sustainable use of water worldwide, TWC also promotes water stewardship as a natural complement to water innovation in the effort to preserve freshwater resources in the Midwest and around the world. Today, The Water Council has established itself as a global leader in the water industry and one of America’s premier economic development clusters as recognized by government agencies, Brookings and the Harvard Business School.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.