Flocean Selected as Winner of World Economic Forum Water Resilience Challenge
- mike marcisz
- 11 hours ago
- 2 min read
Flocean has been selected as a winner of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) prestigious Water Resilience Challenge. Amidst a record number of applications, Flocean was selected by UpLink, the global change platform of WEF that seeks to scale purpose-driven innovations to tackle the world’s most urgent challenges.
The Water Resilience Challenge recognizes Flocean as one of a few startups pioneering new ways to build water resilience. We look forward to working closely with WEF and other leaders in the space to solve the global freshwater crisis.
The Crisis Requires a Coordinated Response
Global water use has risen 25% since 2000, with a third of that increase in areas already experiencing water stress. But the freshwater crisis isn't just about supply—it's about aging infrastructure, inefficient agricultural irrigation, industrial contamination, and the massive energy and land costs of traditional desalination.
No single solution addresses all of these challenges. That's why this cohort matters.
We'll be working alongside nine other startups that each tackle different pieces of the puzzle. While Flocean makes coastal desalination dramatically more efficient than traditional methods—50% less energy, 90% less land used and no toxic brine—our fellow winners are strengthening infrastructure, removing industrial contaminants, optimizing agricultural water use, and developing new reuse technologies.
Having recently extended their Series A funding, Flocean is now partnering with Xylem and Xylem Innovation Labs to scale subsea desalination worldwide. In addition, we appreciate the support of our valued investors, including Burnt Island Ventures, Freebird Capital, Katapult Ocean, Nysnø Climate Investments, Ari Emanuel, Orion, Rypples and Wellers Impact's Water Unite Impact Fund. Without their ongoing support, the scale and coordination needed to match the global challenge we face would not be possible.
Learn more about the Water Resilience Challenge: wef.ch/3Yukepj