Interreg North West Europe – Water Test Network
The Water Test Network (WTN) project will establish a transnational network of testing facilities which can be used by SMEs in North-West Europe (NWE) to test, demonstrate and develop new products for the water sector. In this way, new innovations will be developed and it will accelerate the time to market.
Funding
Summary
The Water Test Network offers SMEs an integrated package of support in the form of Innovation Support Vouchers. These vouchers will be tailored to the needs of the SMEs and guarantee a certain level of fully-funded support, which could be any of the following three components:
- A investigative report which analyses the development and support needs of the SME and their proposed technology;
- Access to a test facility to allow the SME to test their technology;
- Support with validation and verification to assist market entry, where necessary.
Support for an SME can be up to €50,000 (no cash, in-kind services like analytics, testing space and verification), except where a special case is made for high potential. All costs will be de minimis, with appropriate recording.
Through the voucher system the SME will be matched to the most appropriate support / test facility. The voucher will cover the cost of the relevant support, such as the cost incurred by the test facility in hosting the trial. All the SME’s cost, including but not limited to their own staffing, travel, accommodation and logistics, will be met by the SME.
On https://watertestnetwork.eu you can find detailed information about the various test facilities accessible within the project.
Objectives
The main outcome of the project will be a new transnational network of collaborative organizations that work together to
support SMEs and each other and which will continue beyond the lifetime of the project to further enhance innovation
performance of enterprises in NWE water sector. Specific outputs and results will include:
- 120 enterprises supported with enhanced innovation performance via the network
- 90 technologies, products and processes developed and tested in real life conditions
- 60 collaborations between SMEs and research institutes
- 30 innovations which will brought to market after testing
- A future roll out strategy to sustain the network beyond NWE funding
Role of Ghent University
UGent is sub partner of VITO and offers VEG-i-TEC as a test site for SMEs to demonstrate and finetune their innovative technologies related to water treatment.
WEBSITE: http://www.nweurope.eu/water-test-network
Partners
Contact
Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health