MILWAUKEE – PANI, an Israeli product that prevents biofouling in water equipment, has been selected by The Water Council’s corporate sponsors as the winner of the spring 2021 Tech Challenge.
The Water Council’s Tech Challenge connects water innovators with leading water technology companies, facilitating potential partnerships and helping new ideas and technologies gain exposure in the industry. The spring 2021 challenge sought solutions that reduce scale, corrosion and fouling for pipes, tanks, valves and other equipment that encounters water.
The challenge’s sponsors, A. O. Smith, Badger Meter and Watts Water Technologies, unanimously selected PANI as the winner of the $10,000 prize. The innovative preparation and grafting method of polyaniline (PANI) makes it a functional coating that prevents biofouling—the accumulation of biological material such as microorganisms and algae on surfaces—in water systems and accessories. It was created by Dr. Ran Y. Suckeveriene of Kinneret Academic College in Zemach, Israel.
“This award is especially important to me since it is an acknowledgment of my activities in both water engineering and innovation,” Suckeveriene said. “As an entrepreneur, I always aim to implement cutting-edge technologies and materials to address critical issues impacting society today and tomorrow.”