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Short Cuts
NEWS FROM THE AROUND THE WORLD OF WATER TECHNOLOGY
HOLLAND INNOVATION PARK (HIP) ATTENDS AQUATECH AMSTERDAM AGAIN BACK IN BUSINESS!
Agnes Dirksen
photo ©Lucas Kemper
The global coronavirus pandemic is not over yet, but the pace at which large parts of the world are currently vaccinating their populations creates new optimism. For everyone in the water technology sector who has missed out on in-person networking, there is finally an event worth noting in your calendar: Aquatech Amsterdam will be held in the RAI from 2 to 5 November. And Aquatech would not be quite the same without the Holland Innovation Park (HIP)— the best place for Dutch technology companies to promote themselves.
The concept is simple: an informal and attractive park-like environment within the Netherlands Pavilion. The informal atmosphere proved a resounding success in past years, as Agnes Dirksen, head of marketing and communications at the Water Alliance, confirms. “We introduced the concept in 2019, and it was a huge success. We are very happy about that. It is not always easy to stand out at a large international trade fair. Some do it with a spectacular booth and a lot of space, and others do it by actively distributing flyers at the fair. Together with the NWP and ENVAQUA, we have opted to aim for an informal atmosphere with a strong focus on networking opportunities. That decision paid off. The participating companies indicated that they made many promising contacts at the HIP.”
The HIP decor reflects the informal atmosphere with a central square with a cosy bar, bar tables, and seating areas. Around the central area, numerous top companies present themselves and their unique innovations. Participation is open to any Dutch water technology company, says Dirksen. There are a few rules, however. said Dirksen. “To keep the HIP innovative and unique, we have some criteria for participation. The technology you bring to Aquatech may not be older than five years at the start of the exhibition, it must be Dutch, and above all, it must be fully ready for the market. And finally, a technology may be listed for a maximum of three consecutive years.”
The benefits for participants are substantial: a central location on the exhibition floor, competitive rates for participation, support through all the Water Alliance’s social media channels and the opportunity to pitch the innovation in the so-called ‘Aqualounge’ in the Netherlands Pavilion.
Come visit the HIP@Aquatech! Registration:
SHORT CUTS
NEWS FROM THE AROUND THE WORLD OF WATER TECHNOLOGY
HOLLAND WATER ACQUIRES ATECA
Holland Water, a specialist in legionella-controlling water technology [see elsewhere in this issue, ed.], acquires industry peer Ateca. The strategic acquisition follows Holland Water’s partnership with investment company OxGreenfield in November 2020.
Over the past two decades, Holland Water and Ateca have played a pioneering role in developing and adopting copper and silver ionization technology in the Dutch water management sector and beyond. The aim is to prevent and treat legionella and other waterborne pathogens. Strengthened by Ateca’s international network, Holland Water’s ambition is to increase further the export of highquality water technology to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “Copper and silver ionization technology is the most effective way to deal with the harmful legionella bacteria in drinking and cooling water systems”, says Leo de Zeeuw, founder of Holland Water. “However, in Europe— unlike America, for example—the solution was initially undervalued. Ateca and Holland Water together paved the way for copper and silver ionization. The technique is now firmly on the map in the Netherlands and a handful of other countries as a result. Now is the time to join forces.”
Mark Engelenburg, founder of Ateca, is leaving the company. “For twenty years, I have worked passionately on Ateca’s development and growth, and I am proud to say that it has a solid foundation today. I am very pleased that Ateca and Holland Water will continue as a single entity from now on.”
fig. # 1: Legionella pneumophila
ABOUT HOLLAND WATER
photo ©Hilde Lenaerts
Holland Water develops, acquires and supplies sustainable technical systems and related services for keeping water systems clean and safe. The company is focused on more effective, sustainable and affordable water management in general and legionella management in particular.
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Wetsus wants to continue pioneering
Can people send clouds to dry areas? It seems like a ridiculous idea. At the WaterCampus in Leeuwarden, water technology institute Wetsus is taking on the challenge. “If an innovation is not ridiculed first, it is not a real innovation”, says scientific director Cees Buisman. Irene Overduin, a journalist at the Leeuwarder Courant, spoke with him.
This story was previously published in the Leeuwarder Courant on 27 March 2021. | Images by Lucas Kemper Photography ©2021.
Cees Buisman was out of action for months. In April 2020, he was hit by a motorcycle while riding his bike. He broke his wrist, fibula and ankle; those were things he could get over. But there was also something wrong in the professor of biological cycle technology’s head; he suffered from frequent migraines. “There was swelling. In June, they drilled a hole in my head and rinsed it out’’, says Buisman in his office in Harich, around forty kilometres south of Leeuwarden. Nevertheless, he continued to feel bad, and during a business meeting in August of that year, he suddenly struggled with speech. The swelling was back—25 millimetres this time. “That is huge. It completely crushes your brain. At the hospital, they suggested using the same hole.’’
Buisman reasoned that his body could also solve the problem itself. “Proteins had deposited, which suck up moisture. Your body can break down the proteins, and then that process stops.’’ With a 1 millimetre decrease per week, the swelling was expected to disappear by 1 March. The expectations proved correct; the headaches disappeared, and his strength returned. The neurologist said he was cured. “I was nervous about the result of the scan. It’s terrible to have something wrong with your head.” Did the malfunction in his head affect his self-confidence? Balancing between bravado and shyness, Buisman responds. “One of my greatest talents is my power of persuasion—using the right argument at the right time; parking thoughts and using them at the right time in the conversation. I was very good at that, and I struggle with it more now.’’ Laughing: “Maybe I’ve become a little more normal.”
Pioneering spirit
In any case, he managed to leave his mark on Wetsus’ new business plan for the next twelve years. The plan testifies to great pioneering spirit, more imaginative than ever. Wetsus wants to operate far beyond the boundaries of what is. “We conduct high-risk, pioneering research—research that should lead to things that aren’t there yet; useful applications for a society that everyone would like to live in.” In the eyes of Wetsus, that world cannot be anything other than sustainable and fair.
Wetsus wants to make it rain
technological concepts for restoring water cycles in deserts and degraded agricultural areas. In other words: Wetsus wants to make it rain over dry areas. Not with chemicals, as is already being done; Wetsus swears by natural, chemical-free technologies. At first glance, it sounds like catching clouds, but it’s not. “Clouds are made up of droplets. We want to work with water vapour harvested from the sea. We have an idea for a tube system filled with seawater. We put that system in a dry area. The sun heats up the water, causing it to evaporate.’’ The trick is making the process of evaporation and precipitation controllable. “To do that, we need new meteorological models that will allow us to predict at what point it makes sense to start evaporating”, says Buisman. Also needed, according to the Wetsus director, are new materials that release the water in the most favourable period, a solution for the sea salt left behind, and an alternative to energyguzzling pumps. In short, there are still many challenges ahead.
Blue energy instead of nuclear power plant
“Some think it can’t be done, but then again, that’s also what they thought about blue energy. >
> The KNAW [Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, ed.] considered extracting energy from fresh and saltwater to be infeasible. Despite that, in 2016, the Blue Energy Power Plant on the Afsluitdijk became a National Icon. So yeah, if you aren’t being ridiculed, you aren’t really innovating.’’ It would not surprise him if the Afsluitdijk power station would one day become a serious alternative to nuclear power plants. “It only takes 50 million euros to scale it up to 1 megawatt. Once that has been achieved, it is simply a matter of stacking into the gigawatts. Compare that with the billions spent on a nuclear power station that we can’t even build ourselves but have to order from France.”
Cooling
Back to water vapour. In terms of the size of the pipe system, Buisman envisages a minimum of 10 km by 10 km or even 100 km by 100 km. “It has to be big to have an effect.” The intended effect is the growth of grass, plants and trees. Trees have a cooling effect, which is needed for clouds to release rain. That completes the circle. “You can see the effects of cutting down all the trees in all the countries around the Mediterranean. Without forests, the climate gets hotter and drier. The heat pushes the water vapour up into the higher layers of the atmosphere.’’ Once there, the vapour easily travels to other continents— no more clouds, no more summer showers. “It is a self-reinforcing process; once it is warm and dry, it keeps getting warmer and dryer.’’
Sinai could become green again
A good example is the Sinai on the southwestern coast of the Mediterranean; thousands of years ago, it was a Garden of Eden. After years of devastating logging, the region is poor and lifeless; temperatures reach up to 60 degrees. Entrepreneur Ties van der Hoeven from Den Bosch, a former dredging contractor, wants to return the Sinai desert to its original state. His company, Weather Makers, is receiving help from Wetsus. “Ties wants to dredge the coastal sea. That sediment is full of organic material. If you spray that in the desert in strategic locations, things can grow there again. Once the forests return, the temperature can drop to around 30 to 35 degrees.’’ One of the problems Wetsus wants to solve is the desalination of the dredged sludge. “Plants are not particularly fond of salt.”
Decadent
Nobody wanted to fund his idea, says Buisman. “People would rather launch chalk particles into the air to block solar radiation. It’s completely decadent.’’ Wetsus sees potential in the idea, however. “We said, we can organize this. Let’s find a professor to help.’’ That flexibility is ingrained in the Wetsus system, which is built on multidisciplinary cooperation between universities (now 23), companies (106) and researchers. Buisman is eager to see a combination of the Sinai project with the tube project.
The Wetsus building in Leeuwarden
Better agricultural land
Another major theme in which Wetsus wants to excel is the improvement of agricultural land. It may be surprising at first glance, as Wetsus is a water institute, not a soil institute. “We are a technology institute”, Buisman specifies. “We are always looking for others we can help with our technology.” Buisman uses the example of a farmer who wants to know which bacteria are good or bad for the soil; that farmer will also want to know how to control those processes. “We know exactly how to do that with water. If you stir left, you get this; if you stir right, you get that. We can make bacteria do whatever we want. In agriculture, however, half say fermented manure is good for your land, and the other half claim the opposite. Is composting better than fermenting? We are studying that using water purification techniques. They are all biological processes.’’
Soil as a sponge
While farmers are primarily interested in fertility, Buisman is particularly interested in the effects on the sponginess of the soil. “Holding water is smart. If you have organic matter and structure in the soil, the soil can store a lot of water. When it gets hot and dry, the water evaporates from the soil to create rain.” When Wetsus started in 2003, there was no competition. In the scientific world, no one was studying water technology systematically. “Thanks to us, there now are a lot of universities working on it. That is precisely why we must innovate, conduct risky research and pioneer. That is our greatest essence.’’ Another way of looking at it could be that Wetsus has made itself redundant. “No, no. The whole philosophy of our story is that without leadership, this field of science cannot exist. You need a Wetsus to prevent the field from breaking down into a million tiny things that are of no use to anyone.”
Magic
In the latest business plan, the staff are more emphatic than ever in their support for sustainable technology. Where water treatment with chemicals used to be possible, it is now out of the question. Why the change of focus? Buisman clarifies: “Do you know Charles Mann’s book, The Wizard and the Prophet? It is about competing ideas for a livable future on our planet. Prophets say: we have enough, we have to reduce, behavioural change is the only way out of the environmental and climate problems. Wizards say we will solve all the problems with nuclear energy, genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence. They promise infinite wealth, which is theoretically impossible, as not everyone can become as rich as Bill Gates. My opinion is: it is clear that behavioural change is needed, but you cannot go back to the Stone Age. So basically, you have two kinds of wizards: wizards who innovate for the sake of humanity, and wizards whose innovations get us out of the frying pan and into the fire. At Wetsus, we want to be the first kind. We are creating a world that we all want.’’
Biodegradable oxidant Ferrate(VI) has been used as a sustainable waste-water purification solution for decades. One major problem is its shelf life. For Ferrate(VI) to retain its strength, it must be added to wastewater within seconds. Meppelbased startup Ferr-Tech, a Water Alliance member since this year, discovered a formula that allows Ferrate(VI) to be kept for at least two months. “The market is screaming for this”, says Judith le Fèvre, director of marketing & public affairs at Ferr-Tech.
Breakthrough in wastewater treatment
Industries are constantly looking for new circular, green solutions for wastewater purification. With a redox potential [see infobox] of 2.20, Ferrate(VI) is considerably more powerful than alternative purification solutions such as ozone (2.08) and hydrogen peroxide (1.78). However, its limited shelf life was an obstacle for many factories for a long time. Ferrate(VI) had to be produced on-site, close to the water treatment plant, to allow the chemicals to be administered quickly. “That made it very difficult to offer, economically speaking”, says Le Fèvre. “That’s why one of my partners spent years doing PhD research on the shelf life and stable production of Ferrate(VI). He eventually found the right formula.”
A major advantage of Ferrate(VI) over regular chemicals is its versatility. “To purify wastewater with other chemicals, you need an oxidant, a disinfectant and a coagulant. Ferrate(VI) is all of those things in one.” In addition, Ferrate(VI) residue is not harmful to people or the environment. “That is what drives us at Ferr-Tech”, says Le Fèvre. “We are selling a product that is good and important for the world—it reduces CO2 emissions and energy consumption. The sludge reduction also reduces transport costs. We are now achieving 80 percent more concentrated sludge than with other solutions.”
Ferr-Tech focuses on six sectors: oil and gas, steel, fish, water boards, agrifood and dairy. Le Fèvre: “The dairy industry is of interest to us; we expect good results with Ferrate(VI) in making wastewater circular in this industry. We are currently experimenting with it at a major player, with the support of SNN [subsidizing body that supports economic structure in the Northern Netherlands, ed.].”
The technique is widely applicable, according to Le Fèvre. “We always start by validating a potential customer’s wastewater samples in our lab. We test different doses of Ferrate(VI) on the samples. The dose that achieves the best result is tested on a large scale in practice.”
After a flying start, the company’s ambitions go beyond the Netherlands. “We want to use the Netherlands as an introductory market and contribute to making wastewater treatment more sustainable. After that, we want to serve Europe. Given the product’s shelf life, we can do that from Meppel. We will have to build new production facilities to achieve our ambitions in the Middle East and the US. Our goal is to become the Tesla of wastewater treatment”, concludes Le Fèvre.
GLOSSARY
Coagulant: a chemical substance used in water purification processes. ‘Coagulation’ in water purification is the destabilization of colloidal particles by neutralizing their charge with an added chemical—the coagulant.
Ferrate (VI): inorganic anion with the chemical formula [FeO4]2−. It is photosensitive, contributes a pale violet colour to compounds and solutions containing it and is one of the strongest water-stable oxidizing species known.
Redox potential: abbreviation for ‘reduction-oxidation potential’ It is a measure of the tendency of a solution to lose or gain electrons. In other words, it is the ratio of REDucing and OXidating substances. Redox potentials occur between ions of the same metal but with different charges, as well as between metals and solutions of their ions.
Judith le Fèvre | Ferr-Tech
