COMMERCIAL PROFILE, INTERTRADE IRELAND:A NEW €750,000 cross-Border research project being carried out by Central Systems of Limerick and FM Environmental of Newry, and supported by InterTradeIreland's Innova programme, is aimed at assisting local authorities and other wastewater treatment operators meet the exacting performance and monitoring standards set by the EU Wastewater Directive.
The two companies have partnered to develop a turnkey IT solution for wastewater treatment compliance monitoring and management. The partnership combines Central Solutions’ extensive experience in data-management solutions and FM Environmental’s national and international track record in the design and deployment of wastewater treatment solutions. The ultimate beneficiaries will be local authorities and others with responsibility for wastewater treatment – as well, of course, as the public, who will benefit from quality-assured water.
Innova is the all-Island RD programme aimed at stimulating, promoting and supporting RD co-operation between firms, North and South, with the support of public research organisations where required.
Previous Innova projects have included the exploration of possible treatments for cancer, severe acute pancreatitis, inflammatory and auto-immune diseases and the development of a hygiene management system that target infections such as MSRI and C Difficile.
Other cross-Border partnerships have been funded in the areas of life and health sciences, medical devices, software, agri-food and environment. To date, InterTradeIreland has invested over €6.5 million in cross-Border Innova RD projects.
Companies of any size can apply to Innova. Most applications come from high-potential growth sectors such as the life sciences including medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, polymers and plastics, the ICT and food sectors, but applications are not restricted to these.
Funding is geared towards product, service or process developments that demonstrate identifiable benefits to the companies involved and represent a fundamental part of their strategic business plans, strengthens existing North/South RD collaborations or forms new collaborations and are innovative and technology-based with potential commercial success.
Companies can apply for Innova funding through the registration of an “expression of interest”. The proposals are then reviewed. Short-listed partnerships are invited to apply and submit their business plan. Applications are assessed by independent commercial and technical advisors who assist InterTradeIreland in the decision making process.
Central Systems and FM Environmental came together last year to apply for support under the programme. “We were involved in the delivery of high-quality web-based solutions to public bodies and we had already done some work in the environmental space,” says Central Systems chief executive Paul Conheady. “Both myself and my co-founder in the business, Ken Stockil, had experience of working in RD in a multinational environmental and had seen how it could deliver scalable business opportunities. We had the IT background and we partnered with FM Environmental because they had the domain knowledge and the expertise in the design and delivery of wastewater treatment plants. Our skills are very complementary.”
At the core of the project is the integration of hardware and software to create a turnkey solution for the maintenance, monitoring and control of wastewater treatment plants. “Plant operators are coming under increasing scrutiny. Our solution is aimed at making life easier for them, and assisting them comply with the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),” Conheady adds.
“The EPA is currently going through a process with all of the local authorities and plant operators putting in place the new licensing regime which it is introducing under the EU Wastewater Directive,” he says. “This will set out the various operating and reporting standards the plants need to meet. Once a licence is issued the operator will need to report performance to the EPA on an ongoing basis and our solution is designed to facilitate that.”
Noel Mills, a consultant to FM Environmental, says: "Central Systems approached us and asked if we would be interested in working with them on the development of a solution for reporting on the performance of wastewater treatment plants North and South. In the South, most of the plants are controlled by the local authorities while there was also a large number built by developers of housing estates where the local wastewater systems couldn't handle the new development. In the North, the plants are under Northern Ireland Water. There is also a Scottish Water and the various private water companies. Elsewhere in Europe there are a variety of different operators. But they all have one thing in common; they all have to report their performance to the EU under the Directivein one way or another. We originally started the project to develop a means to help these organisations in making their returns."
He says the InterTradeIreland application and review process is quite rigorous. “We had to go through a competitive tendering process. Initially there were between 70 and 80 proposals from North/South partnerships and only about a dozen got funded.”
The project has evolved into more than the reporting system initially envisaged. Mills says: “It’s now turning into more of an asset management tool. Many local authorities don’t know quite what they have and if you don’t know what you’ve got, you can’t manage it. We have developed a practical modular system with Central Systems based on their software expertise and our hardware skills.”
There is a clear market opportunity for the new solution. “We are not trying to replace or compete with anything in use at present,” Conheady says. “Our solution will integrate with what’s already there. At present we have deployed the system on a pilot basis in three local authorities in Ireland and we have to launch it commercially in the UK before the end of the year. Hopefully, we can use Ireland as a starting point and launch into other export markets from here.”
“Collaborative RD is essential to the future success of both economies on the island,” says Liam Nellis, chief executive of InterTradeIreland. “Besides funding support, Innova offers an opportunity to accelerate new product development with a company in the other jurisdiction while working within a controlled, protected environment. “It allows the sharing of otherwise inaccessible knowledge and access to complementary technical expertise.”
Both partners have high praise for InterTradeIreland and the Innova programme. “I have to acknowledge the great support and assistance we have received from InterTradeIreland”, says Conheady. “We wouldn’t have been able to do it without the Innova programme. They gave us financial support, facilitated the development of our partnership with FM Environmental and on a practical level they facilitated meetings and gave us advice and assistance in how cross-Border partnerships work.”
For more on the Innova programme, visit: intertradeireland.com/innova
