I can give you a few more details. We had a lot of support, particularly from organizations like AquaAction. They made it possible for us to launch a pilot project. Getting to that stage involves another barrier, and it's likely very important to give it some thought.
Apart from economic considerations, and the time and resources needed to develop the technologies, there are regulatory hurdles. With municipal by-laws, people are always afraid of change. We went and met municipal representatives to tell them that our solution would reduce their use of salt for de-icing by 40% to 50%. The authorities told us that they'd rather spread more salt than take a safety risk. We understand this argument. However, if we are to validate our solution, tests are needed. Fortunately, we succeeded in launching a pilot project that is still under way in the city of L'Assomption.
It's thanks to support from accelerators like AquaAction and IVEO that we succeeded in getting through to the municipalities. However, we needed intermediaries for them to listen to us. We received numerous calls from potential individuals and clients who were interested in the technology, but who in the end found that it was not yet as highly developed as they would like. We can understand that, but to develop the technology, we need support, mentoring and deployment opportunities.
I also do entrepreneurial work, for Cteau among others. I look at innovative companies trying to develop new technologies, and see that they encounter the same challenges.