Abstract
The Urban Utilities sector, notably Water, Sewerage, Wastewater Treatment and Municipal Solid Wastes Disposal, uses, at its core, technologies that are up to 100 years old. Costly, inefficient and wasteful in the extreme, they are the very antithesis of sustainable. This talk introduces a new approach to dealing with the immense problem this sector has now become: The New Circular Economy – wherein literally nothing is disposed of, and everything is leveraged with the power of the sun and turned into a full spectrum of high valued essential products and services. Wastewater, garbage, septage, yard wastes, industrial wastes and waste plastics are transformed into pure water, superfood, fish, vegetables, herbs, reinforced bioplastics, engineered lumber and firm, on-demand renewable power: collectively, a massive positive cash flow favouring communities that are effectively broke.
In this talk, we will hear from Skillicorn Technologies founders Paul Skillicorn and Mani Vannan. They will lay out the problems they are solving, describe briefly why current solutions do not work – both as to engineering and economics – and then describe the Skillicorn Technologies solution. Paul will speak to the specifics of the engineering and institutional approaches Skillicorn Technologies is taking. Mani will address the larger financial challenges that must be overcome to implement a full-scale New Circular Economy.
Speaker Mani Vannan
Co-Founder and Managing Director - SKILLICORN Technologies (UK) Ltd Mani, Skillicorn Technologies co-founder, brings over 40 years of experience in international banking, government finance, and climate change solutions. His entrepreneurial efforts have facilitated over $1 billion in funding for diverse infrastructure companies. His advisory roles span public, private, and not-for-profit sectors.
Speaker Paul Skillicorn
Co-Founder, Managing Partner and Technical Director - SKILLICORN Technologies (UK) Ltd Paul is a leading international development expert and highly qualified water, wastewater agriculture, food, materials & renewable energy professional. He has worked for and with international institutions such as UNDP, The World Bank, UNCDF and WHO. He has conceived, built, financed and managed a number of for profit and not-for-profit companies – working, always, to change established paradigms. Paul has also worked with and for many major international universities as both academic and advisor
