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What Do We Think about… When We Think about Water?
The water sector is undergoing significant change, much of which is propelled by external drivers outside of the traditional utility business model.Water M&A / Company Strategies
Water-related M&A for technology, equipment, and services companies has ebbed and flowed over the past five years. Spurred on by emerging market opportunities, market entry and strategic expansion, a host of water platform companies, strategic investors and financial firms are vying for growth in water.
Utility Strategies
The consolidation of gas, power, and water assets is not a new phenomenon, but, given the state of municipal water infrastructure, investor-owned gas and power utilities are exploring opportunities for portfolio diversification.
Private Investment
The role of private participation in water, globally, is one path to rehabilitating and upgrading utility assets. From investor-owned utilities in the U.S. to build-own-and-operate contracts for desalination plants in the Middle East, the roles played by private investors—financial and strategic—vary significantly by country and regulatory frameworks.
As the regional markets evolve in response to dynamic macroeconomic and climatic influences, established players are poised to build out from their existing platform positions and be joined by new market entrants.
Corporate Sustainability
Increasingly, publicly traded companies are accounting for the impacts of their decisions on water usage and facilities’ discharges. The outcome of their growing focus will be increased conservation, water reuse, and more efficient water management.
Desalination
The global desalination market is undergoing significant change driven by more widespread competition for water by increasingly stressed utilities and industry verticals. Climate shifts are putting additional stress on existing water supplies in select markets like Australia, the western U.S., and Latin America. At the same time, baseload demand for water in the Middle East rises with population and industrial requirements.
Within this context, the global desalination market continues to evolve, driven by more widespread competition for private participation and associated capacity additions.
Advanced Water Treatment
Amidst increasing pressure on the water supplies, quality, and wastewater effluence, globally, the deployment of advanced treatment technologies is proving critical to meet regulatory and operational demands for municipalities and industries.
Water Reuse
Paralyzing drought and environmental impacts on water supplies across the U.S. sunbelt—from Florida to California—have thrust wastewater reuse into the spotlight as a critical solution to minimize long-term risks to state water supplies. Today, only 6.4% of wastewater flows in the U.S. are reused for industrial, irrigation, or municipal purposes, highlighting the expansion potential.
For years, Bluefield’s team has tracked more than 1,200 reuse projects, globally, to guide company strategies in developing alternative water supplies.
The Future of Food and Water
The high demand for water & wastewater treatment across the global food and beverage sector presents a host of opportunities to address water quality issues and wastewater effluents to utilities and surface bodies. For these reasons, coupled with a growing interest in sustainability, water sector solutions providers and investors are targeting the industry with advanced treatment and digital solutions to address water management.
Energy Transition
The energy sector is undergoing a major transition. Thirty-five percent of global electricity by 2035 is expected to be generated by renewable energy sources. An estimated US$1.1 trillion will be invested in the green energy transition in 2022. If renewable power displaces thermoelectric power generation this could have major implications for the water sector.
