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Imagine H2O
Accelerator

The Accelerator is the leading development program for early-stage entrepreneurs around the world.

Meet the 2026 Accelerator Cohort

The Imagine H2O Accelerator equips early-stage water startups with the resources they need to develop their solutions, commercialize their technologies, and enter new markets

With an exclusive focus on water and a zero-equity model, we provide comprehensive support that reflects the sector’s unique opportunities and challenges. We leverage our deep sector expertise and expansive global ecosystem of investors, partners, and advisors, giving startups the tools and insight to grow and scale effectively.


Our Track Record

The Accelerator is making waves

See what we’ve accomplished over the years.

16
years
190
startups supported
80%
startup survival rate
$1.3B+
raised in early-stage funding
Benefits

Development, access, and global visibility

The Imagine H2O Accelerator opens essential doors for early-stage water startups. With sixteen years of experience and a deep network of industry experts, customers, and investors, we provide a proven path to market for emerging technologies.

ecoSPEARS tech
Startup Development
  • Connect with our network of mentors
  • Attend virtual training sessions led by industry experts
  • Receive personalized startup support
Ecosystem Access
  • Access our global network of Tech Adopters
  • Secure funding through our pilot awards and our investor network
  • Engage our portfolio of alumni startups
Industry Visibility
  • Present at premiere industry events
  • Leverage our online audience of 30K+ followers
  • Gain credibility through IH2O’s stamp of approval
Eligibility

Is the Accelerator right for you?

The three IH2O programs serve distinct groups of entrepreneurs.

The Accelerator is intended for early-stage water startups around the world.

 

Eligibility requirements:
  • Incorporated in the last 7 years
  • Less than $5M in annual revenue
  • Less than $10M of equity investment

Please reach out if you have any questions about eligibility criteria.

2026 Cohort

Our portfolio
Active Membranes

Active Membranes

Active Membranes is redefining water desalination by transforming RO membranes from a passive consumable into an intelligent, controllable platform. Their electro-active spiral-wound modules apply a tunable low-voltage alternating current to actively manage fouling and scaling at the membrane surface—reducing reliance on chemical pre-treatment and minimizing cleaning events. Designed to integrate into existing and new plants, the platform delivers more stable performance, higher recovery, lower energy use, and reduced footprint and lifecycle costs.

Cohort

2026

Programs participated

Accelerator

AlgaFilm Technologies

AlgaFilm Technologies

AlgaFilm Technologies’ Algae Forest is a biofilm-based wastewater treatment system that reduces nutrient removal costs by 50–90%, uses 80% less energy, and leaves a 75% smaller carbon footprint than conventional alternatives, all with no moving parts and minimal maintenance. The system efficiently removes BOD, nitrogen, and phosphorus through a compact cone bed design that optimizes solar penetration and algae growth, while weekly automated biomass harvesting produces valuable byproducts such as biofuels, fertilizer, and bioplastics.

Cohort

2026

Programs participated

Accelerator

AquaPoro

AquaPoro

AquaPoro engineers scalable atmospheric water systems that operate below the humidity threshold of conventional systems, with dramatically lower energy costs. From residential units to industrial-scale arrays, AquaPoro builds decentralized infrastructure that turns air into ultra-pure water.

Cohort

2026

Programs participated

Accelerator

AxNano

AxNano

AxNano provides the wastewater treatment sector with permanent, on‑site destruction of PFAS in solid and liquid residuals, helping generators eliminate liability, meet emerging regulations, and move beyond disposal toward true source control.

Cohort

2026

Programs participated

Accelerator

Beyond The Dome

Beyond The Dome

Beyond The Dome systems completely destroy wastewater sludge and biosolids in under 2 minutes. Key advantages include a 90% reduction in material hauled offsite, complete destruction of organics (including PFAS, microplastics and viruses), and small automated turnkey systems instead of large infrastructure projects.

Cohort

2026

Programs participated

Accelerator

Biota

Biota

Biota modernizes PFAS analytics with two tools: MagnaPrep™, which boosts lab throughput by replacing slow SPE with a rapid magnetic workflow, and RapidTest™, delivering on-site PFAS results in 15 minutes for $10. Together, they expand testing capacity, reduce costs, and enable faster, data-driven decision-making.

Cohort

2026

Programs participated

Accelerator

Brightwater Tools

Brightwater Tools

Brightwater Tool’s automated and patented Freeze Concentrator can remove water and reduce volumes in high strength liquid waste streams. Retaining 90% of the solutes in a 6 to 10X concentrate, they can be captured for beneficial reuse. Their treatment process has great promise to disrupt current practice, transforming waste to resources.

Cohort

2026

Programs participated

Accelerator

Delta Bravo AI

Delta Bravo AI

Aquaspec by Delta Bravo AI is the first Agentic AI operating system for water utility leadership, helping the next generation overcome the challenges of people shortages and regulatory complexity to improve operations, save money and make better water.

Cohort

2026

Programs participated

Accelerator

FloNergia

FloNergia

FloNergia is transforming water systems with its FloMov™ technology, which uses air instead of mechanical parts to move and aerate water. With no moving components, it delivers 50–70% energy savings, lowers maintenance costs, and efficiently handles complex liquid-solid mixtures across wastewater and aquaculture applications.

Cohort

2026

Programs participated

Accelerator

Molendotech

Molendotech

Bactiquick by Molendotech provides rapid, portable water testing using patented endotoxin detection to identify contamination in real time. Its cost-efficient field-deployable system delivers results in about 15 minutes without lab processing, enabling instant decision-making for water users and regulators worldwide.

Cohort

2026

Programs participated

Accelerator

Imagine H2O is an essential experience for any startup in the water technology space. The guidance, resources, and industry connections truly moved the needle towards scalability and growth.
Slava Libman CEO, FTD solution (IH2O ’24)

Case Study

Removing nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater using natural processes

Cohort

Imagine H2O Accelerator 2021, Urban Water Challenge IV

Focus Area

Wastewater Treatment

Dairy farms are not generally known for their sustainability, but that could change with the help of Gross-Wen Technologies. With the 2021 Accelerator Top Deployment Award, GWT will deploy a pilot project at one of the nation’s largest dairy operations to sustainably and cost-effectively recover nutrients from the wastewater—and reduce the farm’s carbon footprint. At scale, the project will produce 270 tons of dried algae, avoid 5,000 metric tons of CO2, and increase farm revenue by ~$1M every year.

Over the course of their time in the Accelerator program, GWT presented their technology to key IH2O partners such as Xylem, SUEZ, and Kurita; they also engaged with 19+ mentors in our network. In addition, when the GWT team was looking for an independent board member, we introduced them to five industry experts to consider for the role. After an extensive process, GWT selected one of our referrals and is actively discussing potential collaborations with the others.

Throughout the year, GWT gained transformational insights and connections as they expanded their customer pipeline, explored project finance, planned for strategic partnerships, and identified new market opportunities.

The Imagine H2O network and programming have been incredibly valuable to GWT as we continue to grow and refine our business model. Although we have learned several industry-specific lessons the hard way over the past several years, we would be a full year further along if we had gone through this program when we launched in 2017.
Martin Gross CEO & Co-Founder, GWT
Our Portfolio

Leading the water sector forward

Our entrepreneurs are revolutionizing how water is used, reused, treated, and accessed.

See our Portfolio

Mapistry

Mapistry

Berkeley, CA

Stormwater regulatory compliance software

Cohort

2016

Programs participated

Imagine H2O Accelerator

Aquagga

Aquagga

Tacoma, WA, United States

Compact, low-cost system that completely destroys all types of PFAS with minimal operational complexity—making regulatory compliance simpler, cheaper, and more effective in addressing human health risks.

Cohort

2025

Programs participated

Imagine H2O Accelerator

Power & Water

Power & Water

Swansea, UK

Water & Wastewater Treatment

Patented, modularized sono-electrochemical treatment process that combines the power of ultrasound and electrolysis to directly address passivation and reduce energy consumption, while demonstrating lower costs than liquid chemicals for electro-coagulation.

Secured commercial contracts across the municipal and industrial sector including O&G, construction and aquaculture in the UK. Ongoing projects in carbon capture through AOP with utilities in Asia and the US.

Cohort

2022

Programs participated

Imagine H2O Asia

NLine Energy

NLine Energy

Hood River, OR, United States

In-conduit hydropower development

Cohort

2010

Programs participated

Imagine H2O Accelerator

Meet our judges

Aaron Zell
Equity Group Investments

Adam Tank
Transcend H2O

Andrew Collier
Veolia

Andrew Leach
Veolia

Barry Hofer
Blue World Insight

Barry Liner
Water Environment Federation

Biju George
Ampcus Inc

Brady Steinbach
Sudoc

Brett Clark
Veolia

Bri Nakamura
Xylem Innovation Labs

Christopher Adams
RBC Capital Markets

Christine Boyle
Burnt Island Ventures

Chris Morrison
MorrisonWater

Christy Kennedy
Woodard & Curran

Clayton MacDougald
Emerald Ventures

Clifford Chan
East Bay Municipal Utility District

Corey Williams
SmartCover

Damian Georgino
Sewickley Capital Partners, LLC

Dan Kroll
Hach

Daniel Benitez
VL Water Quality LLC a Veralto Company

David Miller
GEI Consultants

David Rose
Thales Water

David Stanton
cleanwater1

Dirk Brusis
SKion Water

Dominik Elsaesser
Elsass Consulting LLC

Eric Tracy
Ferguson Waterworks

Henrik Laursen
AMI Global

Ifetayo Venner
Arcadis

Iryna Ryzhankova
Ecolab

Jack Seagrist
Flodesk

Jessica Schloss
Veolia

Jill Hudkins
Tetra Tech

Jiten Mangliani
Aqualateral

Joe Zuback
Global Water Advisors

John Grant
Lemnos Advisory

Lynn Broaddus
Broadview Collective

Mark Lambert
WaterMark 

Marshall Thompson
Veolia

Matt Rea
The Nature Conservancy

Matthew Shackelford
Touchdown Ventures

Max Storto
Xylem

Michael Flynn
NASA

Michael Warady
Sylmar Group & EAI Water

Mike Lodge
Realise Impact

Nicole Neeman Brady
Renewable Resources Group

Nikita Shirish-Bhalerao
Veolia

Owen Cadwalader
Travertine

Paul Gagliardo
Gagliaqua

Paul O’Callaghan
Blue Tech Research

Peter Williams
Pivot Projects

Pierre Côté
COTE Membrane Separation

Ralph Exton
Grundfos

Reinhard Huebner
SKion Water

Robb Barnitt
DropCountr

Sabeeha Islam
Munich Re Ventures

Sandeep Sathyamoorthy
Stantec

Sandrine Dubuc
Veolia

Sarp Sekeroglu
Kimley-Horn

Shogo Hosoda
Kubota

Steve Kloos
Burnt Island Ventures

Takasuke Nezaki
Kurita

Travis Wagner
Trinnex

Vinod Jose
Amane Advisors

Vinod Ramachandran
Apstech Environmental Limited

Will Sarni
Water Foundry Ventures