Xylem and MIT build a close alliance to improve technologies for safe water supplies.
We may take clean drinking water for granted. But it's not a given in many developing countries—or in many areas of the U.S., including the Southwest, and other broad regions of developed countries. The world is facing unprecedented water challenges brought on by climate change, population growth, urbanization and shrinking fresh water supplies. The need to meet these rapidly intensifying pressures is the focus of an unusually broad collaboration between MIT and Xylem, a water technology leader with 17,000 employees and $5 billion in annual revenue that serves utilities and commercial users of water around the world.
“We know that no technology provider alone can bring the innovation needed to mitigate against climate change and other urgent challenges like aging infrastructure,” says Dave Flinton, Xylem’s Chief Innovation, Technology and Product Officer. “That’s why we are helping bring together the most creative minds to find break-through solutions.”
We know that no technology provider alone can bring the innovation needed to mitigate against climate change and other urgent challenges like aging infrastructure
The relationship began in 2016, when Xylem partnered with the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS), becoming the first member of its Research Affiliate program. Since that time, MIT has become a key part of Xylem’s global innovation ecosystem, with Xylem funding directed research projects through a multi-faceted collaboration between Xylem Innovation Labs and the leading academic and research institute.
Collaborating to improve water-security
Recently, MIT had the chance to sit down with Dave Ayers, who oversaw the relationship from 2016 to 2022 as Xylem’s Senior Fellow and former Vice President for Innovation Strategy and Partnerships, to talk about how the collaboration has evolved over time and how it’s advancing Xylem’s work to solve water:
Ayers says that perhaps the most critical element in this collaboration is MIT's strengths in identifying groundbreaking new technologies and in early-stage examination of technical feasibility.
"New technologies can address an extremely wide spectrum of needs for water utilities, everything from improvements in pumping efficiency, water quality sensing, leak detection and preventive maintenance, to predictive analytics and artificial intelligence that help optimize water networks," says Ayers.
Overcoming obstacles for water utilities often requires adopting multiple advances in technology at the same time. "To pull that all together into one solution for utilities is a real challenge, which is why Xylem partners with collaborators like MIT," Ayers says.
Taking on tough issues
Every year, billions of gallons of treated water are “lost” due in part to aging infrastructure, older, inaccurate meters or unauthorized use—all of which hurts communities’ access to clean water and utilities’ bottom-lines. Even in some North American cities, for instance, up to half of the water that is treated and pumped doesn’t get to the consumer, says Ayers.
Another constant challenge is high energy requirements. "Water is heavy to move," he notes, "which often means that the water utility is the one of the largest consumers of electricity in a municipality."
Utilities often lack the capital to solve such problems through conventional techniques, which raises the need for innovative, smart and cost-effective new solutions, he emphasizes.
MIT was an especially attractive candidate for collaboration, given its global reputation for innovation and its dedicated focus on water through J-WAFS, he says. From its early days, the Xylem/MIT relationship has produced a rich portfolio of collaborations. Ayers estimates that more than 100 engagements between Xylem and MIT experts have taken on tough issues in water technologies.
MIT was an especially attractive candidate for collaboration, given its global reputation for innovation and its dedicated focus on water through J-WAFS
One notable result has been in an "elegant solution," as Ayers describes it, to boost the energy efficiency of water pumping. Hilary Johnson, who completed her MIT Ph.D. in mechanical engineering this year, invented an adaptive centrifugal pump that can adjust to changes in water flow, helping save money and reduce energy usage to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
This significantly more efficient design is a good example of the joint collaboration between MIT and Xylem, Ayers says. Johnson and her MIT colleagues worked hand-in-hand with a Xylem team, starting with kicking around the concept and continuing through early lab testing. Xylem now is performing higher-scale testing of the pump design and readying for commercialization.
Making partnerships pay off
In this successful alliance, MIT's largest role is helping Xylem think about new ways of tackling tough problems for water resiliency, scarcity and affordability, Ayers says. This is an open-ended process in which Xylem technical leads can gain access to MIT's view of emerging trends and technologies through conferences, webinars and other avenues.
With MIT and other academic partners, "we often work on ideation, on what programs to work on next, identifying the right problems to solve," he says. "We're focusing on the fundamental challenges where the results could be game changing; where there's a significant customer problem at hand but no real technology proven to satisfy that need."
He emphasizes that one key ingredient for collaboration is recognizing the differences between early-stage university research and commercial development. "With fundamental research, the risk is higher and progress is not necessarily predictable," he says. "We have to be able to foster creativity and experimentation with our MIT partners in the early stages of research. And then as the technology and process are proven, a project can transition to Xylem for additional testing and development to make it market-ready and scalable."
Such joint research efforts often take a few years to determine feasibility and the right blend of technologies, so Xylem brings tailored project management to support these projects. Interactions cover everything from day-to-day conversations between technical experts up to briefings for Xylem senior management.
The alliance also provides opportunities to connect with MIT startups. Xylem's senior leadership often meets on MIT's campus, and one item on the agenda for those events is to engage with entrepreneurs. Broader conferences at MIT also deliver access to many startups, delivering insights on new opportunities in a broad sweep of relevant technologies.
Additionally, Xylem leverages the collaboration in its recruiting efforts, with access to MIT's talented and diverse group of students through projects and career fairs. The company also participates in MIT’s Office of Minority Education’s Industrial Advisory Council for Minority Education.
We'll also be working together on efficient knowledge transfer, from the lab testing that MIT excels at to more scalable, full volume testing and productization that Xylem is skilled at
Ayers says that Xylem will continue to expand its MIT collaborations, leveraging more and more around complete solutions that might include artificial intelligence or autonomous systems. "Our relationship with MIT will help us just stay close to what's possible," he says. "We'll also be working together on efficient knowledge transfer, from the lab testing that MIT excels at to more scalable, full volume testing and productization that Xylem is skilled at. That way we can leverage more of the work we've been doing together at the research side into products and solutions."
Ayers sums up, MIT is a key member of Xylem’s ecosystem – a collaboration that fuels progress and a great deal of pride.