EnerTech has chosen Waterfund Insight Service to strategize
for and prioritize its calculated water technology investments, IBM
and Waterfund LLC announced recently.
EnerTech is an entirely owned subsidiary of the National
Technology Enterprises Company, which is a secondary company of Kuwait
Investment Authority.
“Kuwait is more than 90 percent dependent on
desalination to meet the needs of its growing population,” Abdullah Al
Mutairi, CEO of EnerTech Holding Company, said. “Managing our water resources is a
critical consideration and it’s important to have an understanding of the true
cost of water production and to evaluate the efficacy of new water efficient
technologies. Together IBM, Waterfund, and Kuwait will develop a customized
index to quantify the true cost of water production, transportation and
distribution and assess the cost reduction potential of emerging water
efficient technologies.”
Waterfund Insight Service is a cloud business solution
originated by IBM and designed to allow regional and national government agencies
to interpret and predict the costs of water in different financial and
hydrological situations. Governments can then develop the financial transparency
needed to grow capital investments in water. In addition, the service offers
data delivered through IBM cloud that allows water utility mangers, government
agencies and corporate water managers worldwide to make decisions for positive
water management.
Considering diverse climate conditions, capital spending and
unforeseen scenarios, the cloud-based service is a way for water management
teams to understand the impact the environment can play on local water
expenses.
“Our mission is to provide a world-class data and investment
platform that helps Kuwait secure its water future with best-in-class
technology solutions from around the world,” Scott Rickards, CEO of
Waterfund, said. “The service will eventually be deployed throughout Kuwait so that
local water managers will be able to derive realistic cost estimates as they
adjust for depreciation, capital expenses, subsidies, operating and
non-operating revenue, and total water produced.”
IBM and Waterfund Insight Service utilizes the Water Cost
Index (WCI), a groundbreaking financial scale created by Waterfund. The service
collaborated with IBM Research to compute the true cost of water manufacturing
in cities that signify more than 25 percent of global GDP.
The Waterfund Insight Service will help EnerTech to analyze,
predict and measure the financial performance of contending tools that can help
Kuwait and the Middle East. Kuwait will join the Global Water Cost Index, as
part of the agreement, utilizing the big data stage developed by Waterfund and
research scientists from IBM.
“The market has demonstrated an undeniable need for the
insights on water investment and production that are derived through IBM’s work
with Waterfund,” Jason Kelley, VP, Solutions and Design, IBM
Global Business Services, said. “There is no limit to the value in strategic insights
amassed from virtually endless data, derived quickly and rendered simply. This
new partnership opens up the potential for new innovation based on weather data
and cognitive computing capabilities, enabling Kuwait to become a hub for water
innovation in the region.”
