OPTIMIZING ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN WATER SYSTEMS: A CRUCIAL STEP TOWARDS CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND DECARBONIZATION

By 2050, the world’s population is expected to reach 10 billion. With more people, comes the need for more energy, food, and water. Yet, climate change is undeniable and the need to decouple emissions from growth is a top priority. Climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation strategies need to hand in hand, with energy and water being core elements.

By Mrs. Ana Isabel Lopez, Global Projects Business Development Manager, Danfoss

Roughly 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions are related to CO2 from energy production and consumption. There is no doubt that we need to use energy and resources more efficiently to mitigate climate change. Water is one of the areas, if not THE area, where the impact of climate change becomes most tangible – everywhere in the world, even in temperate climate zones such as in Europe. Spain, for example, has suffered from a long-term drought since the end of 2022, according to the Spanish national weather service. In France, water restrictions applied to almost all French departments in 2022 and 700 municipalities had difficulties with drinking water supplies. Yet, global water use has been growing by approx. 1% per year, over the past 40 years, and may increase by 30% by 2050, as a result of population growth, industrialization, urbanization and climate change.

Energy and water are inter-related in many ways – a phenomenon that is also known as the energy-water nexus. Water is needed to produce energy. In the US, as an example, thermoelectric power plants running predominantly on fossil fuels, accounted for 41% of total water withdrawals in 2015. On the other hand, the water sector itself also consumes energy. For example, drinking water and wastewater management were responsible for approximately 4% of global electricity consumption in 2014, often associated with indirect carbon emissions. In other words, energy is the common denominator and a top priority to act upon. Climate change mitigation strategies that aim to use energy more efficiently, reduce energy consumption and phase out fossil fuels will also directly benefit the water sector.

Energy needs to be urgently addressed to reduce CO2 emissions and tackle climate change. But it is just as urgent to act on the increasingly tangible impact of climate change, water scarcity being a key area. According to UN Water, the global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to at least double from 933 million in 2016 to 1.7–2.4 billion people in 2050. Water scarcity will also come at a cost which could reach, by 2050, up to 6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for some regions, potentially leading to migration and even conflict. Climate change adaptation strategies focusing on water as a vital sector for human beings, wildlife and nature, therefore need to go hand in hand with climate change mitigation strategies focusing on energy.

Let’s take desalination as a tangible example for an important climate change adaptation strategy to tackle water scarcity. Already today it accounts for 1% of the world’s fresh water, securing sufficient water supplies for 4% of the total population. This trend is likely to increase in the coming decades. Desalination is highly effective, but it also has a price regarding energy.

Another example is wastewater treatment. It is estimated that industry and energy together use approximately 19% of the world’s freshwater withdrawals and that two-thirds of all water consumption is involved in corporate supply chains in seven major sectors: food, textile, energy, industry, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and mining. Industrial wastewater treatment can provide an important solution to reduce freshwater withdrawals but it must be done in an energy efficient manner. Strategies include for example systematic excess heat recovery in water treatment processes, increasing the use of renewable energy sources such as solar or wind for water treatment and distribution, adoption of energy management systems and monitoring tools to optimize energy use.

Energy efficiency in water systems plays a crucial role in achieving decarbonization goals while supporting governments in adapting to consequences from climate change such as water scarcity. By optimizing energy efficiency, and integrating energy and water planning, we reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve valuable resources. It is crucial to involve in this important mission all stakeholders, including governments, industries, and individuals – and it is worth it: from an environmental perspective, but also from an economic perspective: By increasing energy efficiency, operational costs will be significantly reduced, and energy bills will be lowered. Operators of desalination and wastewater treatment plants, as well as users and consumers will directly benefit. Even utilities will do so, since less energy use means less investments into infrastructure – a crucial factor as we transition from fossil fuels towards renewable energies.

Danfoss: Leading by example:

Danfoss is a global leader in energy efficiency technologies. We provide energy-efficient solutions for a wide range of industries, including heating, cooling, refrigeration, and water management.

Ana López is a Sr. Water specialist in Danfoss HPP with more than 17 years of experience in water project management, specialized in the desalination sector. Before Danfoss, Ana has worked with international companies as Veolia and Valoriza Agua (Sacyr), leading managing positions as business development Director for Latin America and being involved from the development to the construction and operation phase of water treatment plants. From 2011 to 2016 she has been leaving in Chile for 6 years working as General Manager for Valoriza Chile.

Decarbonization and circularity are at the heart of our ambitious Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG) strategy. We have committed to Science Based Targets for our global operations to become carbon neutral by 2030 (scope 1 and scope 2) and to reduce our value chain emissions (scope 3) by 15% by 2030 (vs. 2019).

Our campus and HQ in Nordborg, Denmark, has already been carbon neutral since 2022, based on three key principles: (1) reducing energy use (2) reusing energy and (3) sourcing green energy. By applying these, we were able to reduce our energy consumption for heating by 70% and our power consumption by 43% since 2007. Such solutions are applicable and scalable in most industries and buildings and provide a concrete and actionable way forward on the journey towards decarbonization.

Within Danfoss, she has worked in business development and Global management for projects, actually she is Value chain manager, taking care of desalination growth strategy inside the company. Danfoss is a privately held company that has grown into a world leader and provides technical and engineering solutions for the desalination industry.

Ana is an environmental engineer specialized in water sector by Alcala de Henares University in Madrid.