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NWD delegation visits WaterCampus
On Thursday, 3 June, Dorette Corbey, the new chair of the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP), visited the WaterCampus innovation ecosystem which has developed in Leeuwarden and elsewhere in the North in recent years. She was accompanied by Bianca Nijhof, general director of the NWP and Ignaz Worm, director of the ENVAQUA sector organisation. The trio was received by Johannes Boonstra, member of the Executive Board of Wetsus and NWP board member, Hein Molenkamp, managing director of the Water Alliance and Joost Paques, director strategy at Paques and NWP board member. After visiting various locations in Leeuwarden, the group moved to Paques Balk, home to the BioBizz Hub since 2020, also as part of the WaterCampus.
NWP DELEGATION VISITS WATERCAMPUS LEEUWARDEN
The working visit began in Leeuwarden, where an impressive collection of buildings and facilities has been built on both banks of the Potmarge river. “I visited Wetsus years ago, but what they have established here today is really impressive”, says Corbey. “It is inspiring to see how many pioneering innovations get off the ground here and find their way to the market.” Bianca Nijhof agrees. “It is also great to see that there is a whole new generation already working on the world of tomorrow. I see young people everywhere in the offices and labs—it’s inspiring.”
Collaboration
During lunch, ideas were exchanged about intensifying the cooperation. NWP, Water Alliance and ENVAQUA already work together in WaterCoalitionNL. “It’s really starting to take shape”, says Hein Molenkamp, who was involved in creating the WaterCoalitionNL cooperation at the time and today sees good synergy between the three organizations. “But we’re not there yet. The more we work together, the more we can offer the globally growing Dutch water technology sector.” Johannes Boonstra expressed the hope that the synergy in the WaterCoalition NL cooperation will continue to grow because better use will be made of individual specialities, and organizations will refer customers to each other more often. “This leads to a ‘no wrong door’ approach; in a system of facilitating water organizations which can often be rather confusing to outsiders, the ‘no wrong door’ principle makes it much less important where interested parties anywhere in the world first ask their question.”
The afternoon featured a visit to one of the demonstration sites at the Leeuwarden wastewater treatment plant where new technology pilots are being conducted by water technology companies Susphos and Brightwork, among others. This was followed by a visit to water technology company Acquaint, known for its smart inspection robot that can inspect pipes from the inside.
photo ©Lucas Kemper
From left to right: Hein Molenkamp, Johannes Boonstra, Cees Buisman, Dorette Corbey, Joost Paques and Bianca Nijhof posing in front of the Wetsus building in Leeuwarden
“The social importance of all this innovation is evident”, said Dorette Corbey. “Look at a country like the United States, for example, struggling with so many bad pipelines. That leads to backlogs, and there are areas where no investors can be found at all. Smart technology like Acquaint’s can give entire regions a future again.”
BioBizz Hub
The group also visited the BioBizz Hub in Balk, an experimental garden affiliated with water technology company Paques and the WaterCampus, where companies develop water and bio-based technology innovations. “We are thrilled that Dorette has taken the time to get to know us so extensively”, said Joost Paques, director of Paques and a member of the NWP board. “To understand the WaterCampus ecosystem, you have to see it with your own eyes, and we were able to take the time for that.” Dorette Corbey, reflects on her visit: “It is impressive to see the involvement of a commercial company like Paques and a public party like the Wetterskip with the demo site at their wastewater treatment plant. It’s great that parties like this are assuming social responsibility.”
Ambitions
Corbey and Nijhof are clear about their ambitions. “I would like to see further cooperation to enable us to do more for the Dutch water technology sector”, said Corbey. “And even more attention for the global water challenge. We can already do a lot with our knowledge, but the great challenge lies in applying our knowledge to countries with inferior infrastructure. Smart water consumption and improved purification are some of the foundations of a liveable society everywhere. That is what I want to work towards.” Nijhof: “I like the fact that water is increasingly seen as a starting point for integrated solutions. Smart solutions save water or make it circular and reduce energy consumption and, therefore, CO2 emissions. That realization is now starting to sink in everywhere. The Netherlands needs to raise its profile in this area.”
Dorette Corbey looks back on a very successful day, not least because of the opportunity the live meeting provided to get to know each other in an informal setting. “It is not only fun, but also very important”, said the new NWP president. “A new cabinet is coming. It is crucial for the water technology sector to form a united front, and that is only possible when you know each other.”
The Dutch combined with water often conjures up images of spectacular delta works such as dikes, sluices and aqueducts. Fortunately, it is becoming increasingly clear that the Dutch also have excellent knowledge of water purification. Knowledge of water has become an important Dutch export product. Nevertheless, there is still a lot to be gained in the Netherlands itself. Making the water chain fully circular is a key challenge. In Flevoland, governments, knowledge institutions and businesses have joined forces to make it happen. In WaterLab Circular Water, suppliers are encouraged to work with end users to develop more efficient and sustainable water use. Seven projects are already underway. One great example is Camp & Surf Markermeer, near Lelystad. Camp & Surf Markermeer as a living laboratory
WATERLAB CIRCULAR WATER: LEARNING ON THE ROAD TO A CLOSED WATER CHAIN, PART I
The Camp & Surf site near Lelystad.
The Dutch combined with water often conjures up images of spectacular delta works such as dikes, sluices and aqueducts. Fortunately, it is becoming increasingly clear that the Dutch also have excellent knowledge of water purification. Knowledge of water has become an important Dutch export product. Nevertheless, there is still a lot to be gained in the Netherlands itself. Making the water chain fully circular is a key challenge. In Flevoland, governments, knowledge institutions and businesses have joined forces to make it happen. In WaterLab Circular Water, suppliers are encouraged to work with end users to develop more efficient and sustainable water use. Seven projects are already underway. One great example is Camp & Surf Markermeer, near Lelystad. For eight years, recreational entrepreneur Mark Snel was looking for a sustainable solution for Camp & Surf Markermeer’s water supply. The location has no utilities, including no connection to the regular water supply. What was the best solution? “You can, of course, bring in water by tank and transport it out as wastewater after use, but that is very expensive and not sustainable”, he says. “We didn’t want that. We were looking for a solution that would allow us to use water in complete harmony with nature.” Through WaterLab Circular Water, he eventually got in touch with a consortium of three companies, who together came up with a fitting solution. “Each company in the consortium has come up with a solution to a part of the problem. They integrated all the solutions into a single, comprehensive application. Our guests will soon be drinking purified rainwater and using purified water from the Markermeer for showering and other sanitary activities. All these water streams are recycled onsite using electricity generated by solar panels.”
Inspiring
Project leader Martijn Bijmans also looks back on an inspiring project. “It’s great to see how we have managed to get things moving in this project by working together. It is exactly what entrepreneur Mark Snel was looking for; the WaterLab Circular Water helped him find unexpected partners who could develop a comprehensive solution. We worked together with the Water Alliance in Leeuwarden. They have a large network, which ultimately helped bring the right parties to the table as well.” André Mepschen of the Water Alliance, specialized in matchmaking for water technology companies, agrees with the project leader’s sentiment. “It all went very practically. We did not spend years writing it all down from start to finish; we kept it simple: the Camp & Surf Markermeer case was mapped out, the budget was established, and it was put forward in the market. It’s nice to see that it isn’t just one party contracted to do everything, but that a consortium of specialists has come together to create an all-inclusive solution.”
The seven pilot projects:
1 Camp & Surf Markermeer (recreation) 2 Lelystad Airport Business Park (business parks) 3 Schaap Holland Biddinghuizen (food processing industry) 4 North Sea International and
Urker Zalmhuys Urk
(food processing industry) 5 ‘Gebiedsorganisatie Oosterwold’ (Two Projects) 6 Camping & Jachthaven
Erkemederstrand
(recreation) 7 The 7th project is actually one of
the Oosterwold projects.
Editor’s note: The first projects are expected to be officially launched in early 2022. In the next WaterProof, part 2 of this mini-series: ‘Creating circular water: the importance of collaboration and launching customers.’
the rather unusual design of the Lelystad Airport control tower.
