Forward Water Technologies is taking advantage of a novel commercialization approach pioneered by GreenCentre Canada that has cut two years off its development cycle and saved at least $2.5 million in research costs. GCC’s partnership with the Xerox Research Centre of Canada in Mississauga provided FWT with support beyond the reach of most start-ups, from process engineering to scale-up, pilot testing and developmental support. FWT is currently building a mini-plant in Kingston, Ontario to demonstrate to investors—using strong engineering principles—that its technology is viable from both an operational and cost perspective. FWT has pioneered an inexpensive, low-energy de-ionization process that uses “switchable” salt – a green chemistry breakthrough – to purify water from difficult-to-treat wastewaters from power generation and manufacturing.