Making best practice common practice in the water sector
Closing the gap between water innovation and real world adoption
The solutions to the world’s most urgent water challenges already exist; they are simply trapped in a cycle of perpetual piloting. The Tech Ascend Foundation is a mission-driven, not-for-profit organisation established to break this cycle by turning proven technologies into confident adoption decisions.
The Problem: The “Piloting Valley of Death”
The water sector is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Proven and scalable solutions exist, yet few are used in practice. Risk aversion and trial processes that rarely require a decision to implement, leave innovation trapped in a persistent “piloting valley of death” as climate and environmental pressures continue to escalate – even when technologies demonstrate strong environmental and operational potential.
What Tech Ascend Does Differently
Tech Ascend focuses on implementation, not experimentation. We work with technologies that have already demonstrated technical viability and clear potential to improve efficiency, resilience, compliance or emissions performance. We work globally to bring together de-risked trials, leadership learning and coordinated sector action to move proven solutions into real-world use where they can deliver measurable ESG impact while supporting investment and procurement decisions.
Proof in practice: The Trial Reservoirs Initiative
Tech Ascend is the independent, non-profit home of the Trial Reservoirs Initiative, a revolving fund model initially funded by Isle Group in 2021 to close the gap between water innovation and real-world implementation by restructuring how adoption decisions are made.
The Initiative is designed to remove the financial and structural barriers that keep proven but unfamiliar solutions stuck in repeated testing. It generates evidence that bridges the gap between testing and real-world use, giving corporate and utility end-users confidence to act, while providing technology developers clarity on the route to adoption.
By structuring trials in a way that lead to implementation, the model allows funders to support repeated rounds of climate and water resilience impact from the same pool of funding. Funding is shared risk, with no repayment obligation if a trial does not progress.
For detail on how the model is structured, explore our approach. For results and performance metrics, see Impact & Outcomes.
£1.7m+
external funding leveraged to date
70%+
of trials progress from pilot to contract
We bring together de-risked trials, leadership learning and coordinated action to move proven solutions into real-world use – making best practice common practice in the water sector.