18 minute read
NEWS IN BRIEF
Wafilin in brine baths
CEVAP Technology and Wafilin Systems have entered into a partnership: Hein Weijdema and Henk Schonewille signed a partnership agreement to this effect in May 2020. Together, the companies will provide a unique solution for brine treatment in the cheese industry.
By combining Wafilin System’s membrane filtration technology with CEVAP’s evaporation techniques, the two companies have developed a process to treat brine used in cheese production. The innovative process removes impurities such as micro-organisms and proteins from the brine bath without wasting any brine. Both companies are now focusing on completing their first project in the cheese industry, with which they can demonstrate the technique and establish it as an accepted standard solution for brine bath treatment in the international cheese industry.
Cheese in a brine bath.
Debasish Mridha American physician, philosopher, poet-seers, and author EIGHT NOMINEES FOR THE WIS AWARD 2020
THE ENTIRE WATER SECTOR WILL HEAR ABOUT IT!
Like no other in the world, the Dutch have the knowledge to do ground-breaking things with water. From building dykes, polders and islands, to very specific technological knowledge about water itself. The good news is, new innovations are added every year. Anyone looking for a sample of these innovations need look no further than the WIS Award, the Water Alliance Innovation and Stimulation Award. A short interview with organizers Alex Berhitu and Agnes Dirksen about the very special 2020 edition, which will be held on 9 October 2020.
An award is a tried and tested means of putting companies and innovations in the spotlight. That is one of the goals behind the WIS, the Water Alliance Innovation and Stimulation Award. However, it is not just about the spotlights; far more important is ‘selling’ the innovation. That only works if you connect with your customers’ needs. A first impression is crucial.
“You sometimes meet interesting business partners over coffee or at a networking event, and are suddenly asked to introduce yourself and your technology during a round of introductions”, says Alex Berhitu, Business Developer at Water Alliance and founder of the WIS competition. “You usually don’t have much time. Keeping it short and concise competition is based on the candidates’ first pitches”, Berhitu continues. “Not everyone finds it easy to present their innovation in a clear and compelling way. By participating in the WIS, pitching and feeling the competitive element, they can train this.”
Participation alone generates a lot of media attention for the participants, as past editions have shown, but it is a home run for the winner. In that context, Communication Manager Agnes Dirksen references the most recent winner, Hydraloop Systems. “After winning the award in 2018, Hydraloop Systems received media attention from all over the world. Their innovation, an in-house water recycling system, appealed to the imagination.” It instills curiosity about the latest batch of companies preparing for the WIS Award 2020. “We have eight candidates this year”, says Dirksen. “And take note: these are not just promising start-ups, some of them are renowned parties who have held a solid position in the market for years and are now looking for a podium for their innovation.”
The COVID-19 crisis means that the WIS will be organized differently and rather uniquely this year, according to the organizers. Berhitu: “The final will is key. That is also why the initial selection of the
be a sort of hybrid event. Finalists, their supporters, the jury and the media will assemble at Studio Z in Leeuwarden. A professional TV and media studio, with a Grand Café in—appropriately—the former building of Waterleiding Friesland. From there, the finals will be broadcast online as an exciting live show, so everyone can follow along in real time.”
WIS AWARD
When: 9 October 2020 (check wateralliance.nl for free registration) Organization: Water Alliance The eight candidates • Susphos (innovation: Susfire), • Noria (innovation: CirCleaner ® ) • Jotem Waterbehandeling (innovation: Smartbox) • O3 Systems Technology (innovation: FOX Friendly Oxidation) • Semiotic Labs (innovation: SAM4) • CTSTwente (innovation: CMF) • Berghof Membrane Technology (innovation: Tubular Forward Osmosis) • Royal Brinkman (innovation: Nanobubbles)
THE WIS AWARD 2020
Wetsus tests new phosphate recovery technique
As part of the EU project WATER MINING, Wetsus is testing a new technique to create large vivianite crystals from treated wastewater. To this end, Wetsus is building a pilot installation for Spanish research institute Eurecat in Barcelona to study the new ViviCryst technology. “The technology may be a good alternative for phosphate-rich wastewater streams that have to meet strict effluent requirements”, says Leon Korving, scientific programme manager at Wetsus in Leeuwarden.
In April, the European Commission awarded a EUR 17 million grant for the WATER MINING project. One of the project objectives is to recover nutrients, minerals, energy and water from industrial and urban wastewater and seawater using new combinations of water technology solutions that have already been researched at an EU level.
Virtual travelling to Italy
Water Alliance has been working to link Dutch companies to domestic and international government and industry demand for the past ten years. An important part of our work involves attending international fairs, but we also regularly explore countries. In late June, it was Italy’s turn.
“When exploring a market, our primary focus is on the needs that may exist and which international partners can help introduce Dutch companies”, says Water Alliance Business Development Liaison Juliette Douglas. Italy was no different. In the form of a webinar, Water Alliance linked several of its members to Proaxxes [A business development company for foreign companies on the Italian market and internationalisation service for Italian SME’s, located in Florence.], the Dutch Embassy and three Italian case owners, including an architect, a consultancy firm and a rail transport company. The underlying idea is clear, says Douglas. “Water saving and reuse in the urban environment is a hot topic in Italy, and some of our members have great solutions for that.” Chris Schoenmaker, Senior Economic Advisor at the Dutch Embassy in Italy, added, “As an embassy in Italy, we would like to establish a sustainable network between Dutch and Italian companies.”
Participants included DeSaH, Hydraloop, Van Remmen UV Techniek, Colubris Cleantech, Akanova, Drop2Drink and Bluecon International. Sabine Stuiver, CMO of Hydraloop, said she was very satisfied with the session. “This was a great session for us. I am looking forward to continuing working on an Italian Roadmap to see how it can work out for our company.” Paul van de Grift, LATAM Business Developer at Bluecon, was also satisfied. “I gained a lot of insight into the Italian market today. It was extremely valuable to us.”
The team of Water Alliance, Proaxxes and the Dutch Embassy in Rome plan to work on an “Italian Roadmap” in the coming months, which will make it easier to connect Dutch water technology companies to relevant projects in Italy.
European water sector sets its sights on youth
There are huge differences when it comes to water throughout Europe. Not only in terms of availability, but in price too. One issue shared by many European countries, however, is a shortage of young people for water-related training, especially in preparation for operational work. To tackle the issue, Europe has joined forces to improve training for water technicians in secondary vocational education. The European Platform of Vocational Excellence Water (PoVE) was launched in Brussels earlier this year. The partners held a virtual meeting in late May. An update.
For the record, the shortage concerned here is people at the vocational excellence and training (VET-level, red.) level. “It’s about highly-skilled tradespeople”, says Pieter Hoekstra, CIV Water programme manager at Water Campus Leeuwarden. “They are the creators. They know how to make things.”
The participating European parties met at the end of May—online, due to the coronavirus crisis. Various presentations showed that there are still major differences between the various European regions. “It was surprising to see that we all have
Pieter Hoekstra at WaterCampus Leeuwarden.
different starting points”, confirmed Nicola Murry of Glasgow College in Scotland. Břetislav Skácel of CREA Hydro & Energy from the Czech Republic touched on what almost everyone is struggling with. “Our water companies are missing skilled people. Another problem is that there is a lack of interest in waterrelated education among young people. That is why the PoVE Water project is so important to us. PoVE Water will also help us influence public water companies and draw their attention to the importance of water-related education and the need to invest in it.” Jānis Rubulis of the RTU in Latvia added: “The water
sector is vital to society. People—and youth, in particular—seem to have forgotten that. Young people in Latvia don’t seem to want to work in the water industry.” Hoekstra of the CIV is convinced that his organization and the collaboration at Water Campus Leeuwarden can play a leading role here. “The water sector needs to become ‘sexy’ again in many European countries. CIV Water attracts young people’s interest by attending career events and open days. CIV Water also allows students to participate in company training courses at companies such as Vitens [large water supplier in the Netherlands].”
Education
Hoekstra is proud of the role his CIV can play, but also emphasizes that he also stands to benefit from his European partners. “We want to prepare young people for a globalizing society, and that requires international strategic partners. The ultimate goal is that students can take classes in other countries. Achieving this requires education curricula to align with and trust each other. This project is an important step in that direction”, says Hoekstra.
Skills
The PoVE Water is a European project aimed at strengthening the skills of VET-level professionals in the water sector. In addition to the skills that are important today, the project focuses on the emerging skills that will become increasingly important in the future.
The project unifies vocational secondary schools, the water sector, research centres, colleges and government institutions in the Netherlands, Scotland-UK, Latvia, Malta and the Czech Republic.
Crystal Clear
Water Future is about to make headlines with a unique water treatment system. Their invention enables agriculture and greenhouse horticulture to efficiently extract salt from used water. The start-up from Dongen in North Brabant, The Netherlands, will be launching the new product in 2021. The launch would not have been possible without first testing ‘EcoGreen’ at the Water Application Centre in Leeuwarden, one of the Water Test Network’s test sites.
The compact system uses capacitive electrodialysis, in which only charged salt ions can pass through the membranes. The system purifies used water, leading to significant water savings while recovering valuable nutrients. There is a lot of interest from the horticulture sector and industry, says CEO Willem van Baak. He also sees possibilities for irrigation and drinking water applications in third world countries.
Reuse
The enthusiastic innovator is running the project with designer and developer Emad Khatibzadeh. Willem has been working with water treatment systems for over thirty years. For years, he worked for Fujifilm, a major player in the world of film rolls, which became more involved with other products due to digitalization. Fujifilm’s experience with coatings, for example, is used in the production of water purification membranes. “I noticed at Fujifilm that the current techniques are not optimal for greenhouse horticulture”, says Willem. “One thing led to another. I had a good idea for removing sodium from greenhouse wastewater, allowing the purified water to be reused. As a result, the water in the greenhouses can be circulated longer. It is a great solution for the increasingly dry summers, especially because the horticulture sector is heavily reliant on rainwater. I presented my idea to Emad, who I met through his studies, and he loved it.”
BZG certificate
Willem and Emad started work on the product in 2017. Two years later, the duo had a working prototype and it was time to scale up. “I heard about the Water Test Network at a conference, and I was immediately enthusiastic about it”, says Willem. “I contacted the Centre of Expertise Water Technology [CEW, also located at WaterCampus Leeuwarden] and I wrote a plan of action with Emad after a few meetings with them. We spent around four months on that.” The tests in Leeuwarden allowed Water Future to obtain the required BZG certificate (Assessment Committee for Greenhouse Horticulture Treatment Plants). The Water Application Centre (WAC) delivered the required report to the committee. “The test procedure went smoothly”, recalls Emad. “The WAC has extensive knowledge and know-how. They know all about membranes and were able to make modifications to the system on their own. I only dropped by once to explain our system and the technology. A few phone calls sufficed for the rest.”
Going to market
The opportunity to use the Water Test Network served as a bridge to the next step: large-scale testing. Water Future has reserved all of 2020 for large-scale testing, aiming to launch the system on a national and international scale in 2021. Emad: “We are currently testing at five sites—four in the Netherlands and one in Belgium. The test sites are greenhouses of varying sizes in which different crops are grown. Each wastewater stream has a different composition. We visit each site every week to follow the developments closely.” Collaboration with partners is crucial to the development process, according to Willem and Emad. “The horticulture sector is a great industry to work in”, says Willem. “Like us, they work fast and efficiently. Our partners include large parties such as the Ridder Group. Our cooperation with the Water Test Network was also exceptionally satisfactory. The Water Alliance will be very important in marketing EcoGreen to other companies and the press.”
Water Test Network The Water Test Network, in which the Water Alliance and CEW are partners, is a network of fourteen water-related test facilities throughout Western Europe. These test facilities allow water technology companies to test their innovations in an operational environment, including financial support for the project (up to €50,000). For more information about the project and the test facilities, visit: nweurope.eu/water-test-network
BIOTRACK DEVELOPS UNIQUE COVID-19 DETECTION METHOD
Biotrack-CEO Gerard Schouten would like nothing more than to stop COVID-19, but first he hopes to obtain a lot of positive infection data. The data will allow Biotrack’s BT-MED system to become even smarter. The machine appears to be a breakthrough coronavirus detection system. It is fast, innovative and fully autonomous. Customers have signed up from all over the world.
Schouten is not alone in his quest to improve the unique technology. The Biotrack team in Leeuwarden consists of nine people, he says the day before new job interviews. “The series production of our autonomous virus detection system—which will soon be usable outside the laboratory—takes around four weeks on average. In the summer, we hope to produce five more that can be used for COVID-19 research. We have had interest from around the world, including the United States and Italy.” Biotrack began development in April. “In two months, we developed a test kit that is now being used by a few users. The method generates more information than just a simple positive or negative result. It can also indicate how active the virus is, and how fast it can spread, for instance.”
Step to the medical world
Founded in 2008, Biotrack has focused the development of its detection method on the world of water technology for years. Two years ago, its activities in the medical sector took off. “We sort of rolled into it through our analysis of hospital wastewater”, says Schouten. “At some point, a professor asked us to use the BTMED system to investigate antibiotics resistance in bacteria. It was a complex job, but we were confident in our ability and began testing in 2018. Our system uses DNA/RNA colouring to make micro organisms visible. It also proved effective on pathogens that hide well in the body. Our method is fundamentally different from the usual analyses.”
Initial experiments
Biotrack started giving lectures on the method to doctors, leading to questions about further applications. Would the system also be able to quickly detect the presence of Lyme disease through blood analyses? Or herpes? What about the Epstein-Barr virus (Pfeiffer syndrome)? It all proved possible. Since then, several doctors have used Biotrack’s high-quality analysis services. Schouten: “And then COVID-19 showed up. People from all sides told me, ‘you need to do something with that’. But we did not want to rush anything. Biotrack had only just started on the path of virus detection. One of our clients managed to convince us, and we started experimenting in late March. Within two weeks, we had developed a basis for DNA/RNA straining to detect COVID-19.”
Satisfaction
Two locations in the Netherlands are currently conducting COVID-19 tests with the Biotrack system. The results are available within two hours. To achieve an even better result— such as to what extent a person is infected—Biotrack also needs positive COVID-19 samples with strong spreaders. “We’re talking about less than 5% of all analyses. A mountain of data is welcome.” Thanks to efforts by Water Alliance, Biotrack is now on the map in The Hague. International interest is also rising. Schouten plans to first focus on the countries in which Biotrack already has partners. “It takes a lot of time to establish a network in new countries, time that is currently better spent elsewhere.”
Ids Auke Boersma: ‘Our new parent company enables us to offer large operational and long-term maintenance services to customers all over the world’
French parent gives Econvert wings
In barely eight years, Econvert from Heerenveen, the Netherlands, made a name for itself with first-class wastewater purification technology. The company’s systems are now installed in twenty countries worldwide. Econvert was acquired by the French Saur in April this year. An interview with CEO and co-shareholder Ids Auke Boersma of Econvert.
FURTHER INTERNATIONALIZATION OF FIRST-CLASS WATER TECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FLOWS FROM WASTEWATER.
What do you do, exactly? “We supply technology for water purification using anaerobic bacteria— bacteria that do not need oxygen. Along with clean water, the process produces biogas, which can be used as an energy source. Econvert invents and designs the installations, but we don’t build them. We outsource that part.”
How did it start? “Econvert’s forerunner focused on renewable energy. Our projects were largely dependent on government subsidies. That’s nice in itself, but it’s not a future-proof business model. We needed a business model that was less or not reliant on government support. We found it when we started talking to Henk Buis and Pascal Telaar, who had extensive experience with anaerobic wastewater treatment. They were looking for a party to help them market their technology. That was the start of Econvert’s new style. We wanted to make this amazing technology available to a broad target group. Smaller companies dealing with wastewater problems should also have access to anaerobic wastewater treatment.” What is Econvert’s value? “We treat every customer as a new case. What is the specific wastewater situation? How can we reduce the customer’s ecological pressure? Our involvement doesn’t end with the delivery of the installation. We continue to provide support to ensure that the installation continues to provide added value to the customer. There is also added value in closing the cycle as locally as possible. We achieve this by recovering sustainable energy flows from the wastewater close to the factory.”
Econvert was acquired by French water technology company Saur in April this year. Why did you agree to the takeover? “By joining forces with a larger party, we can internationalize further, allowing us to work and maintain a local presence in other countries. An added benefit is that we can now also offer a complete post-sale process. Our new parent company enables us to offer large operational and long-term maintenance services to industrial customers all over the world. Besides our organization, Saur also acquired Nijhuis Industries and the Italian company Unidro. It fits with the growth strategy for industrial water treatment activities. We are forming a new platform to grow the industrial water turnover.”
How is coronavirus affecting you? “It’s not too bad. Obviously, we are inconvenienced by delays in projects and postponed investments, but it’s nothing compared to what businesses in other branches are going through. That’s quite sad.” What is your personal driver? “As a business expert, I have always been interested in sustainable technology and international business. I want my work to make a difference, I want to contribute to solving a problem. Econvert does just that. Reuse of wastewater and wastewater components contributes to making production chains more sustainable, which is desperately needed in our world.”
