Current

“Every time we connect with another user or user group, it’s a chance to show why water technology and water innovation matter to all of our lives — and to help us figure out how to steward this incredible urban river resource we have,” said our CEO Alaina Harkness in a recent @chicagotribune by @adrianamperezr on the launch of our fifth H2NOW Chicago season. 🔗 Check the live gauges at h2nowchicago.org, and read the full article in the Tribune: chicagotribune.com/2025/05/23/chi… You can also learn more about our findings from the 2024 H2NOW season here: drive.google.com/file/d/1avK01N… #H2NOW #H2NOWChicago #WaterInnovation #UrbanWaterways #ChicagoRiver

Our CEO, @harknessa, was featured in the first installment of the Great Lakes News Collaborative’s new reporting series exploring how rising electricity demand, from data centers to legacy energy sources like nuclear power, is transforming water use across the Great Lakes region. Alaina emphasized the need for smarter policy and long-term planning that considers the connection between water and energy, especially as water and energy-intensive industries like data centers and semiconductor manufacturing continue to boom. 🌍 This moment is about more than meeting growing power demands, it's about protecting one of the world’s largest freshwater resources. Compared to other water-scarce regions across the country, the Great Lakes region is uniquely positioned to lead, but only if the water-energy nexus remains front and center. 🔗 Read the full story in @GreatLakesNow: greatlakesnow.org/2026/02/12/the…

💧 The Third Coast Water Seminar Series continues! Join us in a month on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at AM CST for the fifth event in our 2025–2026 series featuring: 📌Jay Bernas (CEO) and Dr. Charles Bott (CTO), Hampton Roads Sanitation District presenting “Growing a Regional Innovation Ecosystem” 🔗 Register today: bit.ly/3CWSS25 This monthly virtual series spotlights leaders advancing the blue economy and positions the Great Lakes region as a global hub for circular water innovation. 🌍 #ThirdCoastWater #GreatLakesReNEW #CircularEconomy #BlueEconomy #WaterSolutions #CurrentWater

@UrbanRiv is transforming Chicago’s industrial waterways into vibrant ecosystems, and through our #H2NOWChicago program, Current is tracking how these efforts improve river water quality over time. In this partner spotlight, Executive Director Nick Wesley shares how floating gardens on the Wild Mile create habitat for fish, birds, and pollinators while reconnecting people to the river as a shared public space. 🌿 Check out Urban Rivers: urbanrivers.org 💧 Learn more about H2NOW: h2nowchicago.org

💧 We are less than a week away from our next Third Coast Water Seminar! Join us on Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at 2 PM CST for our third seminar, featuring Dr. Reshmina William, Senior Project Manager at Isle Utilities. Dr. William will lead a thought-provoking session on “Water Innovation, Derisking Piloting and Trials” — where she will underline how effective piloting and trials can help improve efficiencies, bolster credibility, and blaze a trail for innovative new water technologies. 🌊✨ This monthly virtual series spotlights leaders advancing a circular blue economy and positioning the Great Lakes region as a global hub for water innovation. 🌍 🔗 Register today at bit.ly/3CWSS25 or through the link in our bio! #ThirdCoastWater #GreatLakesReNEW #CircularEconomy #BlueEconomy #WaterSolutions #CurrentWater

💧Up next in the Third Coast Water Seminar Series: “Water Sector Innovation: Derisking Piloting and Trials” with Dr. Reshmina William, Senior Project Manager at Isle Utilities 🗓️ Wednesday, November 5, 2025 | 2 PM CST 🔗 Register: bit.ly/3CWSS25 With more than five years of experience spanning urban flood resilience, water workforce development, and technology commercialization, Dr. William brings a unique systems perspective to innovation in the water sector. This monthly virtual series spotlights leaders advancing the blue economy and positions the Great Lakes region as a global hub for circular water innovation. 🌍

🌊 Seven startups have been selected for our Sustainable Water Tech Accelerator in partnership with @mHUBChicago and backed by our @NSF #GreatLakesRENEW Engine. Each team will receive investment from mHUB Ventures and join the Great Lakes RENEW coalition of 75+ partners across six states advancing water tech research, commercialization, and workforce development. 🔗 Read the official press release and meet the cohort: mailchi.mp/currentwater.o… #WaterInnovation #BlueEconomy #Startups #WaterTechAccelerator #Accelerator #Hardtech #CircularEconomy

💧 PFAS Remediation: Lessons from Dr. Ali Ling In her kickoff seminar for our Third Coast Water Seminar Series, Dr. Ali Ling, Assistant Professor at St. Thomas University, emphasized that “general environmental remediation of PFAS is not an option.” Instead, she called for: 🔹 Prioritizing source control and high-risk applications 🔹 Using treatment trains that combine multiple technologies 🔹 Taking a project-centric approach to guide decisions 🔹 Building collaboration between researchers and technology companies to accelerate solutions Her message was clear: addressing the PFAS problem requires a practical, strategic, and collaborative approach. 🌍 📺 Watch her full presentation on YouTube here youtube.com/watch?v=viXLTI… 👉 Up next: Dr. Ying Li, Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, presenting “Water Membrane Design & Innovation” on Wednesday, Oct 1, 2025, at 2 PM CST. 🔗 Register now at bit.ly/3CWSS25 #ThirdCoastWater #PFAS #WaterInnovation #WaterSolutions #GreatLakesRENEW #CleanWater #BlueEconomy #WaterResearch #CurrentWater

Yesterday, we proudly joined A Long Swim, @ChicagosMayor, @RepMikeQuigley, @chicagoriver and @CurrentWater for the first open-water swim in the Chicago River in 98 years! Read about the conservation & monitoring work that made it possible in @BlockClubCHI: blockclubchicago.org/2025/09/21/swi…

"The inaugural Chicago River Swim on Sunday is more than an endurance sporting event. It is a symbol of how far we’ve come toward treating urban rivers, not as scars but as veins. It is also a moment to recognize the scale of investments that will be needed to complete the restoration of this river and other urban rivers." Read the full op-ed by our CEO, Alaina Harkness, in the @chicagotribune: chicagotribune.com/2025/09/19/opi… #ChicagoRiverSwim #SwimmableCities #H2NOWChicago

💧 We are just two weeks away from the next seminar of the Third Coast Water Seminar Series! Join us on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at 2 PM CST for our second seminar, featuring Dr. Ying Li, Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dr. Li will lead a thought-provoking session on “Water Membrane Design & Innovation” — exploring cutting-edge technologies that are reshaping how we manage and protect our most vital resource. 🌊✨ This monthly virtual series spotlights leaders advancing the blue economy and positions the Great Lakes region as a global hub for circular water innovation. 🌍 🔗 Register today at bit.ly/3CWSS25

The Great Lakes hold nearly 90% of the U.S. and 20% of the world’s freshwater. Protecting them from pollutants like PFAS and microplastics is critical for our health, environment, and economy. 🌊 Inside Climate News spoke with regional experts on the impacts of microplastics and the solutions underway. Among them was Junhong Chen, Professor of Molecular Engineering at the @UChicago and Lead Water Strategist at @argonne, who co-leads our @NSF-backed Great Lakes RENEW initiative. By investing in water innovation, we’re safeguarding the Great Lakes today—and building resilience for decades to come. 🔗 Read more: insideclimatenews.org/news/23082025/… #GreatLakes #WaterInnovation #NSF #PFAS #Microplastics #CircularEconomy #WaterSecurity #GreatLakesRENEW

PFAS contamination remains one of the most pressing challenges facing the water sector. @UofStThomasMN @UST_Engineering prof. Dr. Ali Ling will share practical strategies and research insights to help industry professionals advance safe and effective remediation solutions.

💧 We’re kicking off our Third Coast Water Seminar Series on Wednesday, Sept 3, 2025 at 2:00 PM CST with Dr. Ali Ling, Assistant Professor at St. Thomas University, for a timely session: “A Practical Guide to PFAS Remediation” 🔗 Register now through the link in bio or at bit.ly/3CWSS25 #ThirdCoastWater #PFAS #WaterInnovation #GreatLakesReNEW

🌊 We’re relaunching the Third Coast Water Speaker Series, a virtual monthly event series featuring leading voices in the water sector! 📅 September 3, 2025 – Spring 2026 🔗 Registration + full lineup at bit.ly/3CWSS25 Starting September 3, 2025, join us every first Wednesday for one-hour sessions with experts driving change around forever chemicals, water scarcity, and more! This is your front-row seat to the ideas and breakthroughs shaping the future of water— in the Great Lakes and beyond. 🎙️ Organized by Current, the series comes as another addition to the innovative work within Great Lakes ReNEW— a 75+ partner, NSF-funded initiative transforming how we recover, reuse, and rethink water. #ThirdCoastWater #WaterInnovation #GreatLakesRENEW #PFAS #WaterPolicy #CleanWater #WaterTech #CurrentWater

Our partners @FreshwaterDW and @Exelon are teaming up to find climate-focused startups for Exelon's Climate Change Investment Initiative (2c2i)! Since 2019, the $20M program has backed 39 companies tackling climate challenges, and applications for the next round are now open through September. Startups selected will receive up to $300K in equity investment from the Exelon Foundation, plus in-kind support from Exelon and its utilities to help scale their solutions. If you're a water or climate startup, learn more and apply via the links below! If not, please share this opportunity with your network to help spread the word. 🌊 🔗Learn more: youtube.com/watch?v=JHEILb… ➡️ Apply: #tabs-9a44c97670-item-48d429c79d-tab" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">exeloncorp.com/community/foun… #GreatLakesReNEW #ReNEWpartners #ClimateInnovation #WaterTech #ClimateTech #StartupAccelerator

🌊 This H2NOW Chicago season, we've partnered with @urbankayaks to bring real-time water quality data directly to kayakers on the riverfront (which recently included members of Team Current!). 🛶 Whether you’re gearing up for a guided tour or renting a kayak on your own, you’ll now find H2NOW info & QR codes in the Urban Kayaks shop so you can check conditions before you hit the water. H2NOW Chicago is a real-time monitoring platform developed by Current, tracking things like bacteria levels so you can kayak smarter and stay informed. This partnership is integral our efforts to make water data available and free to the public, build trust in our waterways, and support a more vibrant, informed river community. 🔗 Curious about how the river’s doing today? Check the latest data anytime at h2nowchicago.org #H2NOWChicago #UrbanKayaks #ChicagoRiver #WaterInnovation #BlueEconomy #PaddleSmart #WaterQuality #CheckTheRiver

🌊 There are only TWO weeks left to apply for @mHUBChicago and Current's 2025 Sustainable Water Tech Acclerator! This six-month program is designed to help early-stage startups develop, test, and scale transformative water solutions, advancing the next wave of water innovation across the Great Lakes and beyond. Led by mHUB and Current and powered by the @NSF-funded #GreatLakesReNEW initiative, the accelerator offers: 💧 Equity investment through mHUB Ventures 💧 Tailored matchmaking with utilities + industry partners 💧 Access to testbeds and validation via Great Lakes ReNEW 💧 Prototyping support at mHUB’s state-of-the-art labs Startups will also join the ReNEW coalition, gaining long-term support and access to a regional network working to recover valuable resources from water and wastewater. 🗓️ Applications are open until July 23, 2025. 🎥 Want a preview? Check out mHUB’s YouTube for highlights from past cohorts: youtube.com/watch?v=rN1fs-… 🔗 Learn more about the accelerator and apply here: mhubchicago.com/sustainable-ma… Thank you to our industry partners: @Exelon , @Ingredion , @SentryEquipment , & Marmon #WaterTech #BlueEconomy #GreatLakesReNEW #NSFfunded #Hardtech #CleanTech #Startups #Accelerator #Innovation

🌊 This Summer, Current has launched the ReNEW Intern Collaborative, a professional development experience for interns placed at #GreatLakesReNEW partner organizations across the region. If you're a ReNEW partner, or if you work in the water sector or related field, invite your interns to participate! Through these interactive virtual sessions, networking opportunities, and career-building experiences, interns will: ✅ Learn about the circular blue economy ✅ Hear from water founders, researchers, and industry leaders ✅ Connect with peers across the Great Lakes ✅ Explore career opportunities in water and climate fields 🗓️ The next session is July 18: Water, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship 11 a.m. CST | Open to all ReNEW Partner Interns 🔗 Register for this and future sessions here: bit.ly/44vo2t1 #GreatLakesReNEW #WaterInnovation #CircularEconomy #WorkforceDevelopment #STEMinternships

✨ We’re excited to celebrate an incredible milestone for Dr. Chong Liu, R&D lead at Great Lakes ReNEW and professor at UChicago PME, who has been awarded a $500,000 NSF Future Manufacturing grant for her work advancing lithium recovery from water. Her project, Eco: Electrochemical Manufacturing of Lithium Feedstock: from Mining to Production, is one of only 7 research grants and 9 seed projects selected by the National Science Foundation’s Future Manufacturing program this year. Dr. Liu’s research focuses on selective separation, which utilizes electrochemical processes to recover lithium and other essential metals from water sources, making mineral recovery cleaner, cheaper, and more scalable. Through ReNEW, she’s connecting early-stage research with industry partners and water sources that span from wastewater to lakes to processed sea salts. As Dr. Liu puts it, “With ReNEW, we can advance our testing, including increasing efficiency, expanding our testing with different water sources, and collaborating with industry partners.” Learn more about Dr. Liu’s work in this RENEWsletter: 🔗 bit.ly/4ewqBPW Learn more in the full NSF announcement: 🔗 bit.ly/4l8EqXk #GreatLakesReNEW #LithiumRecovery #WaterInnovation #FutureManufacturing #NSFfunded #UChicagoPME #CriticalMinerals #CleanTech #CircularEconomy