Programme de résidence
BlueArk Challenge
Residency programme
Bring your project to life in an unique ecosystem!
After four editions organised in the form of a call for projects, the BlueArk Challenge is getting a makeover! It is becoming a residency programme for SMEs, start-ups and/or water specialists. In 2024 and 2025, the BlueArk Challenge will focus on the multi-use of water.
As a company or specialist, you can apply now for this programme, which will enable you to set up, for three months, in the municipality of Val de Bagnes (Valais/Switzerland), and to benefit from the facilities and data related to the region’s water. This will allow you to test your innovations in the field, in real conditions. A financial package of up to CHF 50,000 will be awarded to you to support your installation and development work.
En tant qu’entreprise ou spécialiste, vous pouvez dès maintenant postuler à ce programme, qui vous permettra de vous installer, durant trois mois, sur la commune de Val de Bagnes (Valais/Suisse), et de bénéficier des installations et des données liées à l’eau de la région. De quoi vous permettre de tester vos innovations sur le terrain, en conditions réelles. Une enveloppe financière allant jusqu’à CHF 50’000.- vous sera octroyée pour soutenir votre installation et vos travaux de développement.
take part in the BlueArk Challenge
why?
As a company or water specialist, the BlueArk Challenge residency programme offers you the following services for a maximum of three months and up to a financial envelope of CHF 50,000:
- Privileged access to the infrastructure and data related to water in the Val de Bagnes area, in order to test your solution in real-life conditions, in an alpine environment
- Minimum cash amount of CHF 10,000 to finance the initial technical elements or the costs related to your installation
- Direct feedback from an initial client (the municipality of Val de Bagnes and its ALTIS water management department)
- Logistical infrastructure (offices and accommodation) so that you or your team can set up and work as close as possible to the Val de Bagnes water networks
- Tailored support to deploy your solution and seek additional funding
- Network of specialists in the field of water to complete the technical or economic aspects of your innovative solution.
take part in the BlueArk Challenge
how?
Conditions
The following conditions must be met in order to apply for the BlueArk Challenge programme:
Above all, you must propose a solution that meets the challenge of the multi-use of water, from the point of view of infrastructure, governance and raising user awareness of their consumption (see details below).
Your solution, project or idea must have reached a certain stage of maturity, with the technology having progressed beyond the research stage (Technology Readiness Level – TRL 4 to 7).
You must have the ambition to develop your solution in real conditions.
You must go to the Entremont area for the time necessary to carry out the tests.
Do you fulfil these conditions? Register now using the application form
Process
1
Fill in the application form
2
Your application will be examined within one month of submission.
3
If your application is accepted, you will receive an invitation to present your project/solution to a selection committee (either digitally or in person).
4
The selection committee will decide on your application and the amounts to be awarded.
5
You set up on site and can start the pilot tests
I'm up for the challenge
Promoting innovation in the multi-use of water
In this era of climate change and its consequences on water resources, the question of the multi-use of blue gold is increasingly being raised. Between the preservation of high-quality water, the need for irrigation in agriculture, the protection of the environment and ecosystems, and the needs of tourism, particularly through the use of artificial snow, it is becoming imperative to find the right balance to maintain the viability of the system, while taking into account the different users.
Although the issues at stake in this multi-use facility are multiple, we would like to focus on three areas:
Infrastructures
- How can existing infrastructure be optimised? Leak detection, improved catchment…
- How can new infrastructure be created to optimise water management? Recovery of ‘lost’ water for other uses (e.g. recovery of rainwater to clean solar panels, reuse of grey water for cleaning, etc.), capture of new unexploited sources…
- How can we create a network and bring together existing networks? Production of heat and cold using drinking water, wastewater or even surface water, production of electricity or hydrogen via drinking water and wastewater networks, etc.
Governance
- How can we prioritise uses and users? Who can collect what quantity? What is the minimum quantity to be guaranteed for whom?
- How can we make the best use of data to manage water networks? Collecting all data, using it but also storing it, transparency and data protection…
- How can we transform water pricing models? Surcharging abuse, finding new models for valuing water…
Raising awareness
- How can we improve the water footprint of users? How much water do we consume on average? Comparing user consumption with that of neighbours, measuring the human impact on the water’s journey…
- How can we use gamification to raise awareness of water consumption? Becoming aware of one’s personal behaviour, communicating quick actions to be implemented to reduce one’s impact…
What awaits you in Val de Bagnes?
With a surface area of 302 km2, Val de Bagnes is the 4th largest municipality in Switzerland. It has more than 10,000 inhabitants, from 65 different nationalities. In the latest survey carried out by the Confederation, residential and infrastructure areas represented 2.6% of its surface area, agricultural areas 14.5%, wooded areas 16.2% and unproductive areas 66.7%. In terms of employment, the municipality has 6,657 jobs: 4.3% in the primary sector, 17% in the secondary sector and 79% in the tertiary sector. Tourism is one of the leading economic sectors, particularly through the resort of Verbier.
The Val de Bagnes water networks have the following characteristics:
Les réseaux d’eau de Val de Bagnes ont les caractéristiques suivantes :
Drinking water
- 23.1 km of aqueducts and galleries between Louvie and the Pierre Avoi
- 1 dam at Louvie, 1 hill reservoir at Moneyeux
- 56 SCAV distribution networks, including 31 private ones
- 142 springs, 98 catchment and collection chambers
- 5 treatment plants, 6 pumping stations
- 51 reservoirs
- 526 hydrants
Waste water
- 1.5 million m³ of treated water
- 125 km of public sewers
- 7,500 chambers
- 447 outlets
Irrigation
- Approximately 2.6 to 2.8 million m³ used (estimate according to the Master Plan of June 202
Available data
- Flow, pressure, quality
Previous editions
2024 - Call for projects
Using artificial intelligence and a digital twin, guarantee the supply of drinking water in the municipalities and promote rainwater infiltration thanks to an innovative infiltration box. These are the functions of the two innovations recognised by the jury of the 6th edition of the BlueArk Challenge.
2022 - Call for projects
Continuously monitoring wastewater using artificial intelligence, better quantifying the value of water via a digital tool, analysing water quality directly at its source using a connected container and avoiding water hammer in water pipes using an innovative solution: these four concrete ideas were rewarded in the fifth edition of the BlueArk Challenge.
2021 - Call for projects
A filter to remineralise rainwater collected in isolated high-altitude locations, dynamic valves integrated into the network and coupled with algorithms to prevent drinking water from stagnating, a microturbine for measuring and regulating irrigation flow that adapts, thanks to artificial intelligence, to the weather and the needs of the soil, and infrared cameras to determine the flow rates of streams: these four innovative concepts were recognised in the BlueArk Challenge 2021 call for solutions.
2020 - Call for projects
No fewer than 59 companies took part in the BlueArk Challenge call for solutions, with the aim of improving water management. Of the 41 proposals submitted, five were awarded prizes by a jury of specialists. The winners each walk away with a cheque for CHF 10,000 and proactive support from the BlueArk Entremont Innovation Centre for the implementation of these promising solutions.
2019 - Hackathon
For a weekend, the Bagnes region was transformed into the capital of water management! Two major events on this theme (a hackathon and a conference) were organised at the Espace Saint-Marc in Le Châble, bringing together nearly 250 people. The Aquavision project, a computer solution that continuously determines the quality of the water in the network, won the second edition of the BlueArk Challenge hackathon. The thirty or so IT developers present worked tirelessly on six concrete challenges encountered in everyday life by professionals in the water sector. The Smart Water conference, which took place at the opening of the hackathon, welcomed more than a hundred people for its first edition. The two events were organised by the BlueArk Entremont Innovation Cluster, ALTIS Group and the Ark Foundation.
2019 - Hackathon
The Naïade project, which uses a computer solution to manage a complex water network, won the first edition of the BlueArk Challenge, the hackathon dedicated to energy, on Saturday evening at Le Châble. Organised by the BlueArk Entremont Innovation Cluster, ALTIS Group, Services industriels de Monthey and The Ark Foundation, the event was attended by more than 100 people, including 55 developers. They worked flat out on 11 concrete challenges encountered in everyday life by professionals in the energy sector. Three other projects were rewarded at the end of 24 hours of intensive work.
Questions ?
If you have any questions about the application process, the context, or any other subject related to the BlueArk Challenge,
please contact us immediately at the following address: contact@blueark-challenge.ch
Votre personne de contact
Anyssia Bovier
058 332 21 20
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