Building a market for Dutch flood protection technology in Thailand
WaveSave had a proven flood barrier and a new market to crack. We helped turn Thailand from a target on a map into a pipeline: proving the technology locally and positioning it for government climate adaptation contracts.
About WaveSave
WaveSave is a Dutch climate tech company and the maker of SLAMDAM, a mobile, water-filled flood barrier. Crews roll it out and fill it with water using a portable pump, protecting hundreds of metres in a day. When the flood passes, it is drained, cleaned and stored for the next season.
What makes it different
- Flexible where permanent defences aren’t. Dikes and walls are expensive and take years to build. SLAMDAM can move to wherever the risk is this year.
- Flood protection and water storage in one. The barrier can hold freshwater for the dry season. In Burundi, farmers with access to stored water doubled their incomes, according to a UN report cited by MIT Technology Review.
- Proven. It was developed in the Netherlands in 2013, wave-tested at full scale at Deltares, and has been used in at least a dozen countries. In October 2026, MIT Technology Review named WaveSave one of its 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch.
Why this matters for climate adaptation
Climate tech attention mostly goes to cutting emissions. But floods and droughts are already here, and they are getting worse. Adaptation technology protects the people, farms and factories facing them now. In Thailand, where the 2011 floods shut down entire industrial estates, that need is concrete: floods return every rainy season.
The challenge
- Two very different buyers. Private asset owners (industrial estates, factories, hotels) and government agencies, which buy through formal procurement and long budget cycles.
- Seeing is believing. Buyers need to see a new technology work in local conditions before they commit.
Our role
- Market focus. We mapped which buyers had both the flood risk and the budget, and brought the right ones to the table.
- Public-sector strategy. We advised on winning government climate adaptation contracts: how procurement works and how to position SLAMDAM within Thailand’s adaptation priorities.
- Local proof. We supported on-site demos for reputable clients so decision makers could see the barrier deployed in Thai conditions.
The result
- A successful on-site demo for government decision makers
- A pipeline of private asset owners across Asia Pacific, not just Thailand
The takeaway
Adaptation technology doesn’t sell itself. Budgets often appear only after disaster strikes, when it is too late to prepare. Selling it takes a clear market focus, local proof and a route through public or private procurement. That’s the work we do for climate adaptation tech entering new markets.