Chemical industry: a solution provider for water efficiency

Updated 29 March with presentation links! 

On 12 March ACQUEAU hosted a workshop on Industrial Waste Water Treatment in Helsinki, Finland. The workshop aimed to foster collaboration amongst water stakeholders and stimulate new project ideas and was hosted by TEKES, the Finnish funding agency for innovation. More than 60 people attended the workshop sharing know-how, presenting project ideas and innovative technologies. And SusChem was there to showcase how sustainable chemistry can deliver new innovative materials and solutions to the water industry.

Water is a scarce resource and a critical element for the development of our society and economy. The chemical industry is a user of water, but also an important solution provider of innovative products, technologies and services which can enable more sustainable water and wastewater management.

To this end, SusChem and the chemical industry are very active in the European Innovation Partnership Water (Water EIP). Cefic Innovation Manager and Co-ordinator of the SusChem National Platforms (NTPs), Antonia Morales Perez, joined the ACQUEAU workshop to present new, efficient approaches that that  are under development with the E4Water FP7 funded project. The project is currently looking at six different case studies that use innovative technologies as a means to achieve a more efficient water management in the chemical industry and other sectors.

The workshop featured case studies on Industrial Wastewater Treatment from the metals and mining industry, pulp and paper, and the chemical industry. The national funding programmes of Sweden, Canada and Finland were presented by national representatives. In the afternoon a brokerage session for the current ACQUEAU Open Call also took place with project leaders having the chance to present their ideas to the audience and meet up potential project partners. In total five project leaders presented ideas and water solutions.

You can download the final programme for the event here and you can find details of the projects presented at the brokerage session here.

About ACQUEAU
ACQUEAU is a market and industry-driven initiative of the EUREKA Clusters, a group of public-private partnerships which aim to develop generic technologies of key importance to European competitiveness.

For more information about SusChem’s contribution towards water efficiency measures, contact Antonia Morales.

Water Efficiency Workshop looks to ETPs for Innovation

Today (15 December), the next step towards the Water Efficiency European Innovation Partnership (EIP) took place at a workshop in Brussels organized by the European Commission. The event held at the EUREKA offices in Woluwe Saint Lambert highlighted possible innovative contributions to the EIP from SusChem and other European Technology Platforms (ETPs).

Under the Innovation Union flagship initiative of the European Union, the Commission’s DG Environment, in cooperation with DG Research and Innovation and other DGs, is developing a proposal for a candidate EIP on Water Efficiency. The objective of the Water Efficiency EIP is to develop innovative solutions for water related challenges and boost innovation to create a global leadership position for European water technology and services.

The 15 December workshop was one of a series of stakeholder consultations to help develop the EIP and was specifically targeted at relevant European Technology Platforms, including SusChem and the Water Supply and Sanitation ETP (WssTP), to discuss existing innovative solutions, develop a prioritization of areas in which innovative solutions need to be developed and identify where the activities of these ETPs and the EIP can support each other. Other topics included discussion of the optimal governance model for such an EIP.

SusChem solutions
The meeting was active, open and free discussion on priorities and possible research and innovation needs in the water sector. SusChem’s input was led by Cefic Innovation Manager Antonia Morales Perez.

“The meeting was very positive and constructive,” commented Antonia. “SusChem is determined to show leadership and to make a significant contribution to solving water issues by working with partners to pursue large-scale projects which can demonstrate real value for society.”

Water is one of four key innovation initiatives for SusChem. SusChem is looking to develop breakthrough technologies and provoke a paradigm shift in integrated water management systems. This essentially involves revaluing water as a precious raw material rather than a utility product: rethinking the traditional approach in order to avoid future competition for water supply between industry and citizens in, for example, urban areas.

Priority for Europe
In June 2011, the Council of the European Union concluded that 'while water availability and water quality are essential for sustainable development and green economy, waters face many threats including increasing trends of global population growth, urbanization, pollution, overexploitation, desertification and climate change.’ Due to these increasing challenges and greater demand for scarce water resources it has been estimated that a global water supply shortage of up to 40% may emerge by 2030.

To achieve water resources protection and sustainable water management the Council highlighted the importance of innovation to find sustainable solutions and invited the Commission to 'investigate an innovation partnership on water in close cooperation with the Member States, with a view to achieving sustainable and efficient use of water.'

The overarching visionary objective of the candidate EIP is that in 2020 Europe will have safe, available and affordable water supply and waste water treatment for all users in place, based on sustainable management of the water resources and the most innovative, competitive and cost effective solutions.

Following the current intense consultation period, it is hoped that a final blueprint for a Water Efficiency EIP could be published in an EC Communication in June 2012. This would be highly appropriate as 2012 has been declared as European Year of Water. Following endorsement by the European Council and European Parliament this could allow the EIP to become operational by early 2013.