image: Attendees pose for a photo after the April 16 event at Rice University.
Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University.
In a city defined by innovation and resilience, the Rice Water Technologies Entrepreneurship and Research (WaTER) Institute hosted its distinguished lecture and panel discussion in Houston April 16, drawing together industry leaders, venture capitalists, researchers and aspiring entrepreneurs to tackle one of the most urgent challenges of our time: water.
Held at Rice University, the symposium featured a compelling keynote by Ryan DuChanois, co-founder and CEO of Solidec, a startup forging a path to low-cost, low-carbon chemicals born out of research at Rice. But the event was about much more than speakers and panelists. It marked a significant milestone in the institute’s mission to advance not only breakthrough research but also the entrepreneurial ecosystems needed to bring real solutions to market.
“WaTER stands for water, technology, entrepreneurship and research, and while we’re very strong on the research side here at Rice, we’re also deeply committed to promoting entrepreneurship,” said Eric Willman, executive director of the Rice WaTER Institute. “We intentionally reached out into the Houston community to bring in a new type of network — venture capitalists, private equity and early stage investors — into the water conversation on campus.”
The panel discussion, moderated by Willman and James Rees, founder of Noverram, included a dynamic lineup of speakers, including Justin Love, CEO of Ion Minerals; Richard Gaut, early stage investor and Rice MBA alumnus; and Chris Bold, a longtime innovator in sustainable water management. Topics included the challenges of scaling water technologies, building market-ready solutions and the critical need for cross-sector collaboration.
Rees said those scaling challenges boil down to three core factors: team, solution and market.
“You can have a great idea, but without the right team, a deep understanding of the broader market and the ability to solve industry and customer problems, you won’t scale,” Rees said. “That’s where academic institutions like Rice can be transformative. They provide startups with essential technical expertise, bridge early stage gaps through research support and lab space and connect highly skilled talent. This combination not only fuels innovation but also helps startups move to capture larger opportunities.”
Bridging the ‘valley of death’
A key theme throughout the evening was the infamous “valley of death” many technologies face — the gap between lab discovery and commercial viability. Willman emphasized that staying within the university environment as long as possible can help startups maintain positive cash flow and avoid premature dilution of equity.
“Water ventures, in particular, require more time and capital than, say, software startups,” Willman said. “By incubating longer in a place like Rice, you improve your odds of surviving that early stage cash crunch.”
Rees agreed: “Once you leave the academic environment, it becomes apparent how expensive it becomes. Lab access, equipment and even having the right people to bounce ideas off of — it all adds up. Staying connected to the ecosystem provides many benefits.”
Building a collaborative water ecosystem
Beyond technology, the event made clear that water innovation is a collaborative endeavor. Willman outlined the institute’s consortia approach, bringing together startups, equipment providers, service companies and end users to tackle shared challenges. Whether it’s per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) removal, decentralized water systems or mineral recovery, the goal is to foster real-world solutions through multistakeholder engagement.
“Having everyone from the water-value chain in one consortium — startups, equipment providers and end users — helps define that first-use case,” Willman said. “And those early pilots are critical to adoption.”
Rees underscored the importance of securing cornerstone clients: organizations willing to collaborate early and help a startup refine its solution.
“It’s not just about funding,” he said. “It’s about validation, iteration and building momentum with a client who can eventually support your scale.”
Houston, with its industrial base and growing innovation ecosystem, has a unique role to play, but Rees noted that the water sector still lacks the connectivity found in other industries.
“There are great ideas and great people here,” Rees said. “But the ecosystem isn’t efficiently connected yet. Investors, innovators, service providers and startups are not always in the same room. Events like this help fix that.”
Water’s most pressing challenges
The Rice WaTER Institute is anchored by core priorities that reflect the most pressing challenges and opportunities in the water sector. A primary focus is public health and the presence of PFAS in the water supply with an eye toward eliminating the harmful “forever chemicals” now found in the bloodstream of most Americans. The institute’s Rice-PAR center is leading cutting-edge efforts to destroy these resilient contaminants.
The institute is also focusing on the water-energy nexus. The institute’s newly launched Rice Center for Membrane Excellence (RiCeME) is advancing membrane technologies to enable mineral recovery, precision separation science and energy-efficient water purification.
In addition, Rice is pioneering new approaches to resilient infrastructure through decentralized, modular systems — solutions that are particularly well suited to the needs of rapidly growing cities and emerging economies. Several pilot projects are already underway on the Rice campus, providing a real-world test bed for scalable systems that could one day transform global water access.
A vision for the future
For Rees, the takeaway is clear: Water may be a complex sector, but the solutions are within reach.
“It’s a solvable problem,” he said. “Regulatory changes are needed, yes. But much of the gap can be filled with technology — platforms and hardware that reduce usage, remove contaminants and increase efficiency. And a lot of those ideas are going to come from academia.”
For Willman, the event marked a turning point in the institute’s strategy to bridge research and entrepreneurship.
“We’re good at bringing in distinguished lecturers on academic topics,” Willman said. “But this event showed that we can also be a hub for translating those ideas into impact. We want more people across the water-value chain to get involved, and we’ll keep creating opportunities to make that happen.”