ChemWater: the Final Conference

Water is vital for the sustainability and competitiveness of European industry and the economy at large. The chemical sciences and the chemical industry play a key role in driving future developments in sustainable water management. And the FP7 project ChemWater has spent the past 30 months mapping out what the chemical process industry needs to do to enable sustainable water management across a variety of economic sectors. The project's final conference takes place in Madrid on 1 -2 October.

The final ChemWater project conference will take place in combination with the ChemH2O event - the must-attend event of the year for anyone looking for a refreshing focus on driving innovation in water technologies and a global perspective on sustainable water management. The conference will specifically focus on accelerating and reconciling advances in leading edge knowledge with real applications addressing the current and future challenges.

The ChemWater final conference takes place in the Hotel Tryp Atocha, Madrid, Spain on 1 – 2 October as part of the ANQUE – DECHEMA co-produced conference on ‘Sustainable Water Management: Chemical Industry Setting the Pace.’

The two day event will feature a range of expert speakers from academia and industry covering a wide spectrum of perspectives on innovation in the sector. The conference provides an opportunity for participants to exchange new ideas and information on sustainable water management. Presentations will include new solutions, case studies and specific examples of success stories with a good mix of current state of the art and real cases.

The ChemWater conference includes sessions on:

• Water as resource: market, challenges, opportunities and technological future needs
• Chemistry and Chemical Technology for the municipal water cycle
• Chemistry and Chemical Technology for the industrial water cycle
• New Water Resources: reclamation, Recycling, Reuse and Desalination
• Integral Water Cycle: Emerging Challenges and Future Prospective

There will also be a round table discussion addressing the question: ‘How far we can go with sustainability?’

Indispensable resource
“Addressing water as an indispensable resource for the chemical process industry ensures the competitiveness of the European chemical process industry as a sustainable supply industry,” says Thomas Track of Dechema and project coordinator of ChemWater.

“The chemical process industry, due to its unique role as both a water consumer and a solution provider, acts as pilot sector. ChemWater has developed a long term vision and thematic strategy regarding the technologies and management developments needed to realize an eco-efficient water management in the chemical process industry.”

Details of the vision and strategy developed by ChemWater will be discussed at the conference and a final project brochure will be published soon.

ChemWater
The ChemWater FP7 project involved SusChem, the Water Technology Platform (WssTP) and nine other partners and has focused on new tools and methodologies, the identification of technology gaps and the consideration of the needs of other sectors that are required to reach a water sustainable process industry by 2050.

The objective of the ChemWater project was to build a vision and a roadmap on sustainable water use in the chemical industry that could be applied to other sectors. The developed roadmaps will support identification of technology and knowledge gaps and roadblocks, and will give direction to future challenges and opportunities. The roadmaps will provide a framework for coordination of development of activities across sectors.

ChemWater was launched in the summer of 2011 and is a coordination and support action project under FP7 involving a total of 11 partners. Its essential aim is to link process industry and water industry know-how to develop sustainable water resources.

The 11 international partners were drawn from the scientific, industrial and water utility communities and have developed a long-term strategy for sustainable industrial use of water in close coordination with existing initiatives and projects. A special focus was on the exploitation of the technological potentials in the fields of nanotechnology, materials and process innovation.

Relevant European Technology Platforms active in these sectors were involved to allow the identification of cross-industry synergies, build a roadmap for technologies and process development requirements and construct an action plan. At the same time, concepts for the rapid commercialization of innovations have been formulated.

ChemWater has provided significant support for the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Water and also has synergies with the proposed Sustainable Process Industry through Resource and Energy Efficiency (SPIRE) PPP.

Obviously the issue of sustainable water resources is a global issue. And the results of the ChemWater project will be disseminated to a wide range of EU and international networks and cooperation actions across the World.

More information
For more information take a look at the ChemWater website or for more details of the ‘Sustainable Water Management: Chemical Industry Setting the Pace’ conference you can contact the conference secretariat by email.

Water EIP: First Action Groups selected

The European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Water has announced the successful applicants from the first call for expressions of interest for establishing Action Groups. More than sixty proposals were submitted for evaluation.

Nine Action Groups were selected out of 64 applications at the end of May 2013. In total, over 700 individual organisations participated in the first call for expressions of commitment demonstrating the relevance of the EIP Water. The successful projects were:

• W4EF: Framework for evaluation and reporting of the energy impacts on water
• Renewable Energy Desalination (RE-Desalination)
• Anaerobic membrane Bioreactor for Recovery of Energy and Resources
• Industrial Water Re-use and Recycling
• Smart Pricing and Drought Insurance Schemes in Mediterranean Countries
• CITY BLUEPRINTS: Improving Implementation Capacities of Cities and Regions
• WaterCoRe: Regional governance of water scarcity and drought issues
• ESE - Ecosystem Services for Europe
• FINNOWATER

Officials from ten different Directorates General of the European Commission participated in the evaluation of the proposals. The selected Action Groups were deemed to fulfil all requirements and showed the most promising approaches, combining innovative ideas with partners across the innovation value chain and demonstrating the potential to deliver concrete results.

All the submitted Action Group proposals have received detailed feedback and the European Commission has strongly encouraged the partners involved to further strengthen their proposals and submit them again during the next call for expressions of commitment. Some general information on the proposals submitted for evaluation in the first call can be found here.

The EIP’s annual conference will be organised in November which will be an opportunity to showcase ideas and seek further consortium partners, and the second call for action groups will be published at that time.

Detailed information about all nine successful Action Group proposals, their origins and other details can be found here.

Ad-hoc Group
In separate news the EIP on Water has established an ad-hoc group as part of the task force set up to develop the EIP’s Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) to identify  barriers and bottle necks to innovation in the sector and propose some new solutions. SusChem and Cefic via Antonia Morales Peres is heavily involved in this initiative with Thomas Track of Dechema.

For more information on the EIP and other SusChem work on water issues, please contact Antonia Morales Perez at Cefic.

Help shape the Water EIP - ChemWater Three - 5 September

The SusChem FP7 project ChemWater will be holding its third workshop next week (5 September) in Brussels. Please note the meeting venue will now be the Brussels offices of Spanish Science and Technology organisation SOST (Española de Ciencia y Tecnología) at Rue du Trone 62. The workshop will further develop the vision for what a water sustainable process industry should look like by 2050 and identify the necessary tools and methodologies needed to realise that vision.

The workshop will focus on those processes, materials and technologies needed to reach the vision that were defined in the previous two ChemWater workshops. Active discussions on allocation of skills, competencies, coordination and funding needed to reach the vision will be discussed focusing on the following topics:

• Chemical process engineering, reaction and process design
• Emerging water treatment technologies
• Identification and development of (nano) materials

The output of the ChemWater project will be directly linked to the forthcoming European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Water, and will provide information to set the priorities for research and innovation in the Strategic Implementation Plan of the EIP and therefore the reference for future calls. The aim of the EIP on Water is to position Europe as the world leader in sustainable water management by boosting innovation.

Participation in the workshop is your chance to bring forward your ideas for research and innovation programmes in this important strategic area and give direction to a roadmap on sustainable water use.

More information

The programme for the meeting is available on the ChemWater website.

Please feel free to forward details of the workshop to colleagues who may be interested in the event. If you need more information on the workshop, please contact either Nienke Koeman or Albert Jansen at organisers TNO.

To register for the workshop please send an email to Inge Huiskes with your name and affiliation (as you would like it printed on a name badge) as soon as possible. Participation in the workshop is free of charge.

ChemWater Workshop Three in Brussels

The SusChem FP7 project ChemWater has announced that it will hold its third workshop on 5 September in Brussels. The venue will be the offices of ACQUEAU. The workshop will further develop the vision for what a water sustainable process industry should look like by 2050 and identify the necessary tools and methodologies needed to realise that vision.

The workshop will focus on those processes, materials and technologies needed to reach the vision that were defined in the previous two ChemWater workshops. Active discussions on allocation of skills, competencies, coordination and funding needed to reach the vision will be discussed focusing on the following topics:

• Chemical process engineering, reaction and process design
• Emerging water treatment technologies
• Identification and development of (nano) materials

The output of the ChemWater project will be directly linked to the forthcoming European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Water, and will provide information to set the priorities for research and innovation in the Strategic Implementation Plan of the EIP and therefore the reference for future calls. The aim of the EIP on Water is to position Europe as the world leader in sustainable water management by boosting innovation.

Participation in the workshop is your chance to bring forward your ideas for research and innovation programmes in this important strategic area and give direction to a roadmap on sustainable water use.

More information

The preliminary programme for the meeting is available on the ChemWater website and a flyer for the event is also available.

Please feel free to forward details of the workshop to colleagues who may be interested in the event. If you need more information on the workshop, please contact either Nienke Koeman or Albert Jansen at organisers TNO.

To register for the workshop please send an email to Inge Huiskes with your name and affiliation (as you would like it printed on a name badge) preferably before 15 August 2012. Participation in the workshop is free of charge.

SusChem at Green Week 2012

The 12th edition of Green Week, Europe’s biggest annual conference on environmental policy, took place 22 to 25 May in Brussels and with this year’s theme of ‘Water - Every Drop Counts – The Water Challenge’ SusChem was a prominent participant.

The message from Green Week was clear: water is a valuable resource that needs to be used properly and sparingly. We must make sure that we have enough for all of its uses and we must avoid polluting our rivers, seas and oceans. Along with all other natural resources, water is one of the most vital for our continued existence on this planet.

SusChem founding partners Cefic (above) and EuropaBio (below) both had stands in the exhibition area together with partner organisations such the Water Technology Platform (WssTP).

ChemWater event
SusChem, WssTP and the European Membrane House (EMH) held an important workshop as part of Green Week on 24 May for the ChemWater FP7 project. The all-day event focused on identifying new tools and methodologies, technology gaps and the needs of other sectors that will be required to reach a water sustainable process industry vision by 2050.

The workshop attracted a good number of participants (see below) and the outputs will be used to revise the ChemWater vision, and as a basis for the European R&D Agenda, in programmes including Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP), European Innovation Partnerships (EIP), and Horizon 2020.

In particular the output of the ChemWater project will be directly linked to the recently adopted EIP on Water, and will provide information to set the priorities for research and innovation in its Strategic Implementation Plan and therefore the reference for future calls. The aim of the EIP on Water is to position Europe as the world leader in sustainable water management by boosting innovation.

Participants got an update on the potential timetable for the Water EIP. The implementation plan was likely to start the drafting process in August with the aim of adoption by December 2012 and the first calls from the EIP being announced in January 2013. Up to €40 million was available for funding of FP7 projects under the EIP and to accommodate the call process the deadline for these FP7 project submissions would be extended into April 2013.

Global tool
Another feature of the workshop was a presentation on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Global Water Tool. This tool helps companies and organizations map their water use and assess risks relative to their global operations and supply chains.

Find out more about the WBCSD Global Water Tool – and assess own organisation’s water situation – by downloading the tool for free from the WBCSD website.

Other highlights
Two other highlights caught SusChem’s eye at the Green Week exhibition.

Firstly the wealth of knowledge on Water issues to be found in the European Commissions Joint Research Centre (JRC). JRC has just published the first of a series of Science for Water thematic reports. You can find out more here.

Secondly the United Nations European Ad Competition on Water has produced some fantastic images and ideas. See the top 30 finalists in this competition here.

SusChem, WssTP alliance signed

The new collaboration agreement between SusChem and the European Technology Platform for Water (WssTP) was formally signed during the closing session of the Water Innovation EU conference held in Brussels on 15 and 16 May.

The agreement was signed in the presence of European Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik (middle above). Gernot Klotz Executive (left) Director of Research and Innovation at Cefic signed on behalf of SusChem and Thomas Michel (right) the recently elected President of WssTP signed for the Water platform.

Earlier Commissioner Potocnik had spoken about the priority of water issues in DG Environment policy communications. He saw the recently announced European Innovation Partnership on Water as a great opportunity. Facilitating implementation of the EIP is one of the primary objectives of the collaboration agreement.

Water will be the main focus of next week's Green Week event, the annual showcase for the environemnt organised by the European Commission DG Environment. Both SusChem and WssTP will be taking an active role in Green Week 2012 in particular the FP7 project ChemWater is holding a satelitte event on 24 May.

Chemical and Water sectors to work together to boost EIP

Today (May 14) SusChem and the Water supply and sanitation Technology Platform (WssTP) announced plans to renew their long-standing alliance for the benefit of sound water management in Europe. The reinforced strategic partnership will combine assets and develop innovative water management systems on an unprecedented scale. With wide-ranging support from European institutions, this collaboration on key priorities will include the implementation of the European Innovation Partnership on Water also announced today by the European Commission.

The agreement is a new approach to advancing water management in Europe. It pairs the chemical sector’s track record of game-changing solutions across industry sectors with the water industry’s strong innovation potential. It is also a natural fit: the chemical industry is one of the biggest water-consuming industries and one of the biggest providers of water treatment materials and technologies.

The partnership is breaking new ground, allowing both sectors to speak with one voice – a real asset in a fragmented water area where multiple approaches coexist at the national, regional and sectorial levels. WssTP and SusChem will be mapping the way forward in critical fields such as:

• Best practices in integrated water management systems: Urban-Industrial-Rural
• Development of enhanced materials, process technologies, systems and services
• Process efficiency of water use, including energy aspects.

High impact
"Together, the chemical and water sectors are ready to provide high-impact, cutting-edge solutions to one of Europe’s most pressing challenges and, clearly, no one sector can tackle this alone,” SusChem chairman Klaus Sommer says. “Value chain collaboration is engrained in SusChem’s vision and the focus is on impact: along the way, we expect to deliver value well beyond what either of our industries can accomplish individually.”

“WssTP’s vision is that by 2030 the European water sector will be regarded as the global leader in the provision of sustainable water services. We realize that climate and demographic changes, together with rising environmental standards mean that we must find step change solutions to these challenges,” WssTP President Mike Farrimond says. “Working with SusChem will enable us to avoid replication of effort and ensure that together we have a voice which will be listened to.”

Water has been a key priority for SusChem for some time. As water is used intensively in agricultural and industrial sectors and for public use, integrated water management has become an imperative. A symbiotic approach holds the key to deliver safe, clean, affordable water to all European citizens.

Water EIP announced
The news comes as the European Commission announced the launch of a new European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on water, in which the chemical industry is positioned to be one of two main actors. The partnership is part of the EU’s Innovation Union strategy and aims to boost European innovation in water management by getting promising ideas, products and technologies to market faster.

Announcing the EIP Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: "The European Innovation Partnership on Water will help ensure that we can continue to provide safe, available and affordable water for all, by supporting the development of innovative solutions to deal with water challenges – while simultaneously aiming to position Europe as a world leader in water technology and services."

“Making Europe a global leader in water management requires this type of partnership. The chemical industry must play a leading role to make it happen,” commented Gernot Klotz, Cefic executive director for research and innovation. “There is great potential for innovation in both the water and chemical sectors. The partnership should be a strong double-act.”

Around 57% of freshwater use can be attributed to industry. Energy production alone requires nearly three-fourths of industrial water demand, or 45%, of total freshwater use. Industrial processes require the remaining 12%. Intensive use of freshwater also occurs in agriculture, where 22% of freshwater is needed, followed by the general public at 21%. All three users compete most for the resource in Europe, increasing the need for an integrated approach to water management. The partnership announced today provides scale, vast expertise in water innovation and a proven ability to execute.

The EIP on Water has ambitious objectives, including the need to reduce household water consumption, increase water efficiency in irrigation, decrease the water footprint of all industries, minimise water loss in distribution systems and reduce the energy used in the water sector.

Klotz added: “The collaboration with the water sector is a natural fit because the chemical industry has built a track record of offering technologies and products that are vital to many industries, including the water sector.”

New website, projects
To coincide with the new initiatives in the sector Cefic has launched a new website on water issues (see screenshot below). The site demonstrates the role of chemistry in integrated water management in Europe.

SusChem is already involved in the ChemWater FP7 project. This initiative addresses a key pan-European concern: the efficient management of water in process industry. ChemWater intends to coordinate European strategies on sustainable materials, processes and emerging technologies development. The project started in May 2011 and ends in October 2013.

Another FP7 project with SusChem involvement will be E4Water: Economically and Ecologically Efficient Water Management in the European Chemical Industry. The project should launch later this month.

For more information on SusChem’s water-related activities, please contact Antonia Morales-Perez at Cefic.

Tools and Methods for Sustainable Water Use in the Process Industry

ChemWater, the FP7 project involving SusChem, the Water Technology Platform (WssTP) and the European Membrane House (EMH) is holding an important workshop as part of the European Commission’s Green Week. The workshop that takes place on 24 May will focus on new tools and methodologies, identify technology gaps and consider the needs of other sectors that are required to reach a water sustainable process industry by 2050.

During the ChemWater workshop participants will identify gaps that will prevent the achievement of the vision established by a previous workshop on March 2012. And the results of the 24 May workshop will be used as a basis for the European R&D Agenda, in programmes including Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP), European Innovation Partnerships (EIP), Horizon 2020, etc.

The 24 May workshop is an opportunity for participants to bring forward their ideas for these research and innovation programmes. In the morning the vision developed at the previous workshop will be described, additional aspects sought in small group discussions, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Global Water Tool will be presented. This tool helps companies and organizations map their water use and assess risks relative to their global operations and supply chains.

After lunch aspects of the proposed Water EIP will be outlined, new methods for collaboration discussed, a spectrum of challenges identified and appropriate requirements for tools developed.

If you wish to participate in the discussions and want to attend the workshop, then please send an email preferably before May 15th to Inge Huiskes at TNO indicating your name and affiliation.

ChemWater at Green Week

The objective of the ChemWater project is to build a vision and a roadmap on sustainable water use in the chemical industry that could be applied to other sectors. Roadmaps will support identification of technology and knowledge gaps and roadblocks, and will give direction to future challenges and opportunities. The roadmaps will provide a framework for coordination of development of activities across sectors.

The output of the ChemWater project will be directly linked to the imminent European Innovation Partnership on Water, and will provide information to set the priorities for research and innovation in the Strategic Implementation Plan of this EIP and therefore the reference for future calls. The aim of the EIP on Water is to position Europe as the world leader in sustainable water management by boosting innovation.

The venue for this official “Green Week 2012 satellite event” is the Hotel Silken Berlaymont situated close to the main Brussels venue: the Charlemagne building. The 12th edition of Green Week, Europe’s biggest annual conference on environmental policy, takes place from 22 to 25 May in Brussels and this year the theme is ‘Water’.

Green Week 2012 is expected to attract several thousands participants from government, business and industry, non-governmental organisations, academia and the media.

SusChem at Wetsus

SusChem was present at the seventh annual Wetsus Congress held in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, on October 3 and 4. Wetsus is a centre of excellence for sustainable water technology.

More than 300 people participated in the convention and on the first day, the topic addressed was “Cooperation in innovation, a global requirement?” and speakers from diverse backgrounds presented their views on this subject. On the second day, the topic was focused on “International scientific developments in water treatment technology”. In addition, a number of parallel sessions were organised around water science and technology.

Several of the world’s leading scientists in this field including Prof. Eilon Adar, Director of the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Israel and Prof. Dr. Benny Freeman, Professor of Chemical Engineering at University of Texas at Austin, discussed the latest developments in water management and water related technologies.

During the Wetsus event, SusChem was represented in the exhibition area. The technology platform reiterated its commitment to addressing the challenges facing water management and supply, and its important role in bringing together academia and industry to speed up knowledge and business opportunity creation in the face of this crucial challenge.

ChemWater
SusChem is actively involved in European initiatives, such as the ChemWater FP7 project, that is contributing to the essential planning required for a future European Innovation Partnership on water efficiency. ChemWater is based on the long-standing, sucessful collaboration between the European Water Platform (WssTP) and SusChem.

ChemWater will outline how a more efficient use of water can be achieved to avoid the anticipated impacts of water shortages driven by climate change and other factors. The process industry, especially chemistry, plays an essential role as both a major water user and a key solution provider for the development of future water technologies.

Water Efficient EIP starts consultation

SusChem wil be participating at the Stakeholder consultation for the candidate European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Water Efficiency that takes place in Brussels tomorrow (October 20). During the consultation stakeholders will discuss the proposal and its concrete objectives and targets, focus areas, structure, governance and implementation.

Under the Innovation Union flagship initiative of the European Union, DG Environment, in close cooperation with DG Research and Innovation and other DG's, is developing a proposal for a candidate EIP on Water Efficiency.

Water scarcity and droughts already affect one third of the EU territory, floods across Europe have caused enormous human and economic costs, while water pollution remains an issue across Europe, posing threats to public health. These are major societal challenges with links to many sectors. Innovative solutions, bringing together all involved actors and different disciplines can provide effective and sustainable solutions and can contribute to realizing a global leadership position for European innovative solutions to water challenges.

SusChem is already involved in initiatives, such as the ChemWater FP7 project, that can support the proposed EIP.

This general meeting at the Centre Borchette will be first of a number of stakeholder consultations. Further, more specific stakeholder consultations on particular elements of the proposal will be organised until the end of February 2012.

It is hoped that a Commission Communication will then be developed for June 2012 with subsequent endorsment by the European Council and the European Parliament later in the year.