As much as the world is thirsty for water, investors should also be increasingly thirsty to add water-tech to their portfolios.
Only 1% of the world’s water is usable - 99% is locked in glaciers or in salt-water oceans and seas. The US drought in 2012 gave us a taste of what is to come, and this year will see well over half of the US states experiencing water shortages.
Water supply dictates manufacturing, agriculture and – yes – oil and gas extraction, production and refining. As water supplies diminish, water prices will rise and so too will the cost of getting hydrocarbons out of the ground.
All around water-tech is a solid investment and the water industry enjoys some $620 billion in revenues. It’s a resource that will never go out of style, so it’s a short-term and long-term investment that is only going to become more profitable over the years and decades.
Globally, there are some 400 water-related companies for investors to choose from. These companies are engaged in everything from technologies designed to make undrinkable water drinkable and to facilitate the more efficient delivery of water, to overseas water-tech exports.
Here are some top picks for water-tech investments for 2013:
Desalination Technology
This technology, which is growing exponentially in popularity, essentially involves turning salt water into drinking water and it is conducted by over 7,500 plants around the world.…