Aequor Honored at Global Entrepreneurship Summit in the Hague
Aequor Inc. was honored last week as a leader in innovation at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in The Hague, Netherlands June 3–5. The summit brought together leading businesses in various key fields with the potential to bring positive disruptive change to all parts of the world. Aequor was selected to represent the United States from over 5,500 nominees vetted by event organizers and specialist judges, who ultimately selected the most promising companies across the fields of Agriculture/Food, Connectivity, Energy, Health, Water, and other enabling technologies.
The event included opening remarks from Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, who stressed “how wonderful it is to have so many entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators from around the world gathered here … We have so many challenges, from sustainability to energy and water provision, food security, women’s empowerment, maintaining healthy families … [We must] create partnerships within the private sector across industries and with NGOs to design products that can improve the lives of so many that need it.”
Other speakers included Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte; U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; former U.N. Undersecretary General Sigrid Kaag; celebrated architect Rem Koolhaas; and Ivanka Trump.
Aequor co-founder Marilyn Bruno participated in an engaging session focusing on the nexus between Water, Energy, and Food in view of the challenges of environmental degradation, climate change, and growing populations. The talk was part of a three-day program of forums and keynotes on the evolving nature of industry and the disruptive power of technology, as well as the need to foster inclusion and opportunities for women and people from underrepresented communities and the developing world to solve shared global problems.
NASA recommended Aequor for the honor of attending GES. Aequor had been in pilot testing with the U.S. space agency to develop a solution for microbial and biofilm contamination in the water recycling/reuse system used on board the International Space Station (ISS). After three years of pilot testing, Aequor’s small molecules proved to be the best non-toxic remedy for the problem.
Aequor previously won NASA’s iTech Award in the Life Support category. Because biofilm forms thicker and faster in space, it causes serious problems for astronaut health and spacecraft operations. For this reason, NASA has called biofilm “the number-one impediment to long-duration manned space travel.” Because of this, Aequor’s molecules may be crucial to the ultimate success of manned missions to the Moon and beyond.
Aequor was honored to have been a part of the GES Summit and humbled by the many other innovators we met and spoke with there. Be sure to check this blog for regular updates on Aequor’s progress.
