For the third year in a row, smart water technology is perceived as the biggest global market opportunity, topping the list of the 2017 Global Opportunity Report released  by DNV GL, Sustainia and the United Nations Global Compact.

For the 2017 edition of the Report,  a response to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report, 5 500 leaders drawn from business, government and civil society across five continents have identified and ranked 15 sustainability opportunities and in addition showcase 120 practical projects and solutions that already exist around the globe.

According to the report, smart water technology is perceived as the biggest market opportunity – and understanding the potential of smart water technology opportunity and fully capitalising on it to deliver crucial services will represent a huge market opportunity.

 By 2021, the smart water tech market will be worth $20.10 billion USD up from $8.46 billion USD in 2016

Smart water tech, using smart sensors and cloud data management to improve water infrastructure, will be critical in providing access to clean, safe water for urban citizens around the world, the report says.

As in 2015 and 2016, the report presents five global risks and 15 new sustainable market opportunities that directly address them.

The ranking of opportunities this year makes it clear that every business, regardless of sector or field, must invest in cutting-edge digitisation to stay relevant. Blockchain technology and artificial intelligence are the backbones of two of the four top opportunities this year, illustrating that all industries, including water, education, IT, and energy, will not just be disrupted by technological innovations – they’ll be entirely overtaken and reshaped.

Smart water tech uncovers new market opportunities

Smart water technology took first place in this year’s rankings, being deemed the most impactful and applicable of all 15 opportunities. Technology that automatically saves and reuses water protects a scarce resource while creating sustainable options for citizens.

Key findings on smart water opportunities include:

• Newer and smarter products and services around smart water management is the best bet in reducing massive water losses in pipes and shrinking overall water consumption.
• Smart sensors form the backbone of the products and services within the smart water opportunity space. Smart sensors on pipes and other critical water management infrastructure have the ability to detect leaks, measure waterrelated data, including rainfall, pH, temperature, turbidity, flow, pressure, and even contamination levels.
• As internet of things devices, smart sensors are Wi-Fi enabled, allowing data to be sent in real time to cloud storage. Therefore, to be truly effective, smart sensors are integrated with advanced software systems capable of handling and managing these large datasets in real time. In doing so, municipalities can utilise this data to improve service, stop leaks, and boost efficiency.

The report says the strength in this opportunity space is its ability to offer water utilities specific paths towards operating cost and carbon footprint reductions, while improving service and supply management.

Market size and demand drivers

Utilising cutting-edge technologies is a prime opportunity for this field, as the global market for smart water management is estimated to grow from $8.46 billion USD in 2016 to $20.10 billion USD by 2021, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.9 percent during this period.

The market for smart water metering is expected to grow from an estimated $3.88 Billion USD in 2016 to $5.51 Billion USD by 2021, at a CAGR of 7.23 percent from 2016 to 2021. North America dominates the smart water metering market, but Europe is expected to show significant growth rates in the coming years.

The need to replace aging water infrastructure is expected to be the biggest market demand driver for smart water management in the coming years. In addition, climate change and urbanisation will continue to put enormous pressure on natural resources and urban systems.  Smart water systems are an opportunity to tackle climate disruptions - continued frequency of droughts and water shortages will drive the demand for smart water technology in the long term.

Smart water tech will enable cities to better manage water distribution networks

The report says that use of smart water infrastructure enables cities to better manage their water distribution networks in the face of climate disruption. Turning the existing static network of water pipes and pumps into adaptive and connected networks provides huge benefits in reduced water and energy consumption. The opportunity will benefit both operators and consumers, as the reliability of delivery will increase while water supply costs decrease.

The adoption of smart water technology in cities is perceived as the top opportunity across all regions surveyed.  Respondents in Europe and South East Asia & Australia rate it as number one, whereas it is the runner-up for respondents in India, MENA, and Sub Saharan Africa.

Capacity to grow the market

Interestingly, the report says politicians are not perceived by the leaders who took part in the survey to have a strong capacity to make the market grow. However, they are confident their regions already hold the sufficient technological and economical capacities to pursue smart water technology.

From a regional point of  view, leaders in the MENA region perceive the opportunity to have the strongest business case of all 15 opportunities. In China, the opportunity is perceived to hold the strongest business case and have the highest impact on business and demand for smart water technology in China can be expected to grow.

Sector impact

Leaders in the survey expect both civil society and business to advocate strongly for the smart water tech market with the expectation that it will be shaped by civil society-private sector partnerships.

The manufacturing sector sees a particularly good business case in smart water tech. In China, leaders believe the financial sector is most likely to be active on the smart water market. However, although the finance sector regards smart water technology as a good opportunity, respondents from the sector are sceptical about the probability of their own organisation pursuing this opportunity.

Other key opportunities flagged up in the report include:

• Moisture tech -  with climate change drying out soils, new water-retaining solutions are emerging – opening up opportunities to make non-productive land arable. Traditionally, agriculture has been reliant on rainfall patterns or irrigation systems, but the products within the field of moisture tech have the potential to cut this dependency and ensure arable soils.
• The global soil moisture sensor market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.2 percent between 2015 and 2020 and reach $206.2 million USD by 2020.
• Smart hydroponics to recycles water and nutrients with virtually zero waste to grow plants without sunlight, soil or pesticides.

Click here to download the report in full

Waterbriefing is media partner with the World Water Tech Innovation Summit 20-22nd February 2017 and Smart Water Systems 24-25th April 2017