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Success story article29 May 2014

Spreading green technology for fresh water

When a bright and enthusiastic start up came along with a life-saving idea to provide clean water, Italian network partners joined forces to provide an extra-specialised service.

Today, an estimated 3.4 million people directly or indirectly die from water related diseases and 783 million are still without access to drinking water. To face up to this challenge, Italian start-up SOLWA SRL developed a green and sustainable technology able to treat polluted water and sea water using only solar energy.

This means that pure, distilled water can be provided at zero operational costs. While the technology clearly had the potential to tackle a global issue, the company needed help to fine-tune the product and bring it to the attention of international partners.

To ensure maximum support, two Enterprise Europe Network partners in the Veneto region of Italy pooled their expertise to provide an integrated service exploring on the one hand potential technology partners and on the other, internationalisation opportunities.On the technology side, thanks to the network's brokerage service, SOLWA was able to team up with a Spanish research centre with complementary expertise. This has enabled SOLWA to enhance its technology so that it can be adapted to a wider variety of climates and conditions. 

As for internationalisation, the network ensured SOLWA's participation in a high level institutional delegation led by European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani in Portugal, known as "Missions For Growth". This provided a unique occasion to meet other companies working in the international markets. SOLWA is now negotiating interesting international partnerships and offering its technology on the international markets - in particular to the developing world - with the continued advice and support of the European Enterprise Network. 

Since 2008 the involved EEN partners have worked together in order to enhance the synergies and outlining their competences  and skills. These efforts have brought to a clear definition of their role in the region, avoiding overlapping and a waste of time for the client. SOLWA benefited from the deep synergies and integration of the Enterprise Europe Network  partners.