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The Water Technology Innovation Chain
The WaterCampus brings together a complete chain of innovation for water technology, from first idea, research, specialized laboratories, various demo sites, launching customers to commercial international applications by commercial companies. Indeed from knowledge to business. It is driven by the idea that technological development and innovation is needed to develop new markets andcreate new business opportunities.
Pictured from left to right: Arthur Valkieser, Sabine Stuiver, WIPO General Director Daren Tang and Chair of the WIPO General Assembly, Ambassador Tatiana Molcean
Hydraloop wins prestigious UN award
WaterProof regularly highlights companies that are linked to WaterCampus Leeuwarden in one way or another. We also focus on who benefits from that. That certainly includes Hydraloop, who have made the editorial pages quite often in the recent past. But then again, what do you expect from a company so spectacularly raking in international awards. They once won the WIS award, and many others followed. This time, it was the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the agency of the United Nations, that chose Hydraloop as the winner of the WIPO Global Awards Program in Geneva in July.
For those who didn’t already know: Hydraloop, a member of Water Alliance, is a multi-awardwinning company that designs and manufactures consumer-friendly, compact and scalable greywater recycling products for residential and commercial properties. The system can reduce water consumption by up to 45 per cent. Hydraloop has its office at WaterCampus Leeuwarden and has actively used the various components in de WaterCampus innovation chain in recent years. “This award is a great recognition of the value of our intellectual property and Hydraloop’s impact in the fight against the rapidly growing global shortage of clean water”, said Arthur Valkieser, CEO of Hydraloop in a statement. “Our technology, which is free of filters, membranes and chemicals, and our patented IP are unique and changing the market. Hydraloop’s solutions allow anyone—anywhere in the world—to take action and conserve water.”
WIPO is the global forum for IP (intellectual property) services, policy, information and cooperation. It is an agency of the United Nations and has 193 member states. Its mission is to lead the development of a balanced and effective international intellectual property system that enables innovation and creativity for the benefit of all. That vision ties in seamlessly with how original ideas and knowledge are developed and supported at WaterCampus Leeuwarden.
leeuwarden’s secondary vocational education
The European Commission awarded the Centre for Innovative Craftsmanship in Water (CIV Water) at WaterCampus Leeuwarden a grant to expand their programme for the second time last year. The ‘Erasmus+’ programme allows vocational students to gain international experience. CIV Water set up the inter-national programme for vocational students together with Learning Hub Friesland. WaterProof spoke with two people involved: Erna van der Werff and Pieter Hoekstra.
AN EXAMPLE FOR EUROPE
The cradle of these developments has been at WaterCampus Leeuwarden, where a unique innovation ecosystem has been developed and where education, science, government and business help the water technology sector with all aspects of getting from an idea to business. The system has been the blueprint for the sevenyear, 400-million-euro European Vocational Excellence programme. “The enthusiasm with which this has been embraced demonstrates the urgency to put secondary vocational education in the spotlight”, says CIV Water programme manager Pieter Hoekstra. “We do that very nicely in Leeuwarden. We are modest about showing it off to the world, but it should be allowed here. In an unprecedented turn of events, we again received a grant to scale up the project.”
why is that important?
“We can have students learn in an international context”, says Hoekstra. “International internships are common for undergraduate and graduate students. Secondary vocational education is generally considered more regional. By offering vocational students a chance at international experience, we put them into contact with a different environment. In addition to their content development, we also contribute to a bit of life experience.”
learning hub friesland makes the international link for students possible.
“CIV Water wanted to discover what we could do for vocational students in a water-related field”, says initiator Erna van der Werff.
Erna van der Werff and Pieter Hoekstra photo Lucas Kemper “The main question was how to connect them with students elsewhere in Europe. This programme enables students from Leeuwarden to complete part of their education in these countries. Water is a theme that lends itself very well to international cooperation. For example, we have several cooperation partners in Europe, and since early June, we are also working with partners in South Africa. The knowledge gained there regarding working in drought is also sorely needed in Europe.”
what is required of vocational students by the business community?
“Dutch secondary vocational education is highly regarded in Europe”, says Hoekstra. “Brussels is very interested in how we do things here. In addition to instilling knowledge and skills, our education develops professional attitudes to achieve versatile craftsmanship.” “We want students to develop competencies and skills through international collaboration”, says Van der Werff. “When you work with people from different backgrounds, you learn to be flexible and not to shy away from differences. If you get young people to work together in a European learning week, they develop so much more in a broader perspective. Proactive action, entrepreneurialism and agility can develop at an incredible pace, which is important for the development of the rest of their careers. They will no longer stay with an employer for twenty years. They will move more from job to job.”
what are the plans and ambitions for 2022 and 2023?
“The partners have changed”, says Hoekstra. “Scotland has dropped out due to Brexit, but we have been able to attract new countries and schools. We started with twelve partners last year, and we now have twenty-three. We first need to get to know each other well in the coming time. We also need to continue developing the exchange of students, teachers and professionals. We will be working with virtual reality to keep the knowledge flowing remotely. We are learning from each other as regions.”
why are these developments good for the frisian economy?
“Frisian students learn from other parties”, says Hoekstra. “Our partner Vitens [see info panel, ed.], for example, is increasingly having to deal with groundwater salinization. Our partners in Malta have experience with this issue, and we can learn from them. In Spain, wastewater is reused for irrigation in the aridest areas where they grow cucumbers and tomatoes; we are also experiencing more and more drought, so we can learn from that too. That knowledge is shared in our programme. CIV Water serves as an intermediary within the PoVE Water program, offering companies the opportunity to visit these regions to gain experience.”
More info: povewater.eu
civ water
CIV Water is not a school but an intermediary between industry and education. Both worlds have their own focus. CIV Water draws them to a common focus. CIV Water wants to form a sustainable network and establish a basis for educational innovation through that cooperation. “If you can organize that properly, knowledge flows back and forth, and you bring development to students and professionals”, says Hoekstra.
learning hub friesland
Learning Hub Friesland understands European funding opportunities. In addition to applying for grants, the organization participates in the projects it applies for. “We work closely with the school to coordinate European cooperation. We collect good ideas in a consortium and translate them into classroom teaching materials,” explains Van der Werff. “We believe that every young Frisian person should have a European experience and expand their worldview!”
water alliance members at ifat munich
OPTIMISM DESPITE TURBULENT TIMES
It may seem like a long time ago in these turbulent times, but we would like to take a moment to reflect on the IFAT held in Munich from 30 May to 3 June. It was a welcome return after the havoc wreaked by COVID in the event industry. “The high international attendance at the trade show during this challenging time was impressive”, said Dr Johannes F. Kirchhoff, Chairman of the IFAT Munich Advisory Board, in a press release. “It’s great to see IFAT making such a strong restart, as it is a very important, sustainable driver for circular economy and the environmental industry.” WaterProof was also in Munich and visited some Water Alliance members—what did they hope to achieve at IFAT, and how do Water Alliance members see the future in light of climate change, a post-COVID economy and the Ukraine war?
“IFAT was a great stage for Ferr-Tech to showcase our innovation”, says Ludo Tissingh, co-owner of Ferr-Tech. “Together with our German partner, BUFA, we made many new contacts in the water tech sector. We spoke with several international delegations, and many follow-up appointments are currently being made. Our outlook is very positive—with all the uncertainty in the world and the subsequent energy price developments, the market for Ferrate VI looks very promising indeed. Ferrate VI can be used for several essential processes in wastewater treatment with significant energy savings, which is also very important in tackling water scarcity. With all the turmoil in the world right now— war, climate change and COVID recovery— Ferr-Tech is happy to add something positive to the world and to contribute to one of the defining issues of the 21st century: preventing water scarcity.” During Aquatech in November, Ferr-Tech was part of the Holland Innovation Park, an innovation hotspot. It was there that they were first introduced to what would turn out to be one of their revenue generators. Following their recent success in America at CES, the world’s largest consumer electronic fair, Ferrate VI has also found its way to several major players in hydroponic horticulture in the US.
“It was great to see that the IFAT was as big as before the COVID pandemic”, says Age de Boer, General Manager at NIQO Systems. “The exhibitors were clearly keen to get their products out there. It was a great event for NIQO Systems, even though visitor numbers were still a bit down compared to the last IFAT. We mostly attended to promote our 2nd-generation water level sensor based on radar technology, and we received great feedback.” “NIQO Systems is a solution provider for water technology”, continues De Boer. “We enable our clients to monitor and control their remote systems and processes to detect and resolve issues before they become problems. Controllers and sensors are engineered in-house, and we are always looking for new and innovative solutions. Our main concern is currently the lack of availability of certain electronic components such as ICs, which immediately impacts our delivery times. Hopefully, the production of these parts will get back on track soon. Overall, we feel confident about the future.”
“Water is essential for everyone, so I expect the water sector to be less affected than others, no matter what happens”, says Ruud de Vetter, International Sales Engineer at Pure Water Group. His company is recognized as a global water expert. For more than 20 years, they have built top-of-the-line systems for highend water treatment process
solutions. “We are experiencing some ramifications in the current market, with difficulty finding the right people to fill open positions. I was also part of the Ecomondo Netherlands lounge; we participated in the one-on-one matchmaking activities through Water Alliance and the local partner, Proaxxes. This led to the first contact with EXXRO; we had a follow-up interaction during Aquatech and continued developing that connection at IFAT.”
“It is a turbulent time in the world— let’s hope for a quick resolution for the struggling Ukrainian people as soon as possible”, says Henk Postma, Channel Manager at Hydraloop. “Meanwhile, the global water crisis is now a fact of life. Every day, more countries suffer permanent water shortages, people use more tapwater, more wastewater needs treatment, and infrastructure is already insufficient. While clean water is relatively cheap in some parts of the world, this will change soon. In southern Europe, the big water consumers are already being taxed more heavily, paying according to use.” Hydraloop empowers people and organizations to save water and energy with smart and affordable water recycling products without any loss of comfort. “Hydraloop reduces water usage and wastewater production by up to 45 per cent, saves energy and reduces the user’s carbon footprint”, Postma explains. “Our systems contribute to keeping water supplies available for your home, commercial building or hotel. Hydraloop products can be used everywhere: in dense cities, rural areas and off-grid situations where water supply is unstable or insufficient.”
STRONG RESTART FOR IFAT MUNICH
The Messe in Munich was home to IFAT Munich from 30 May until 3 June, making a strong comeback following the challenges of the last two years. IFAT gathered the most innovative industry players from all over the world, with 2,984 exhibitors and 119,000 visitors (half of them from abroad). NWP, Water Alliance and ENVAQUA again co-organized the Netherlands Pavilion in typical Dutch “King’s Orange”. It was clear from the start that IFAT is popular among the Dutch, as all spots in the pavilion were sold out in no time.
klaren international from barneveld, the netherlands, is creating a stir with its self-cleaning heat exchangers. an increasing number of parties who treat wastewater by evaporation are discovering the benefits. klaren technology keeps evaporators clean, improving heat transfer in the system’s pipes, reducing energy consumption and increasing production capacity. extensive cleaning procedures are also a thing of the past.
Full steam ahead
Eric Veen
The Klaren system is suitable for a wide range of processes and industries, from mining to sunflower oil production. This spring, the Barneveld-based company received orders from two prominent pharmaceutical companies in India. Asia is an important market for Klaren, as many industries use large amounts of water in their processes, explains managing director and CFO Eric Veen. Klaren, a member of the Water Alliance, has been active in India since 2017. “An Indian evaporator supplier contacted us. One of their customers was looking for a solution for their clogged evaporation systems. After two weeks of production, they had to clean everything, which halted the process for a week.” Klaren provided self-cleaning heat exchangers for the Indian party’s system. “A fluidized bed of solid particles is used on the side of the pipe where the polluting liquid flows through”, says Veen. “It could be ceramic balls, but we also often use chopped metal wire of different materials. The fluidized bed removes contaminants from the pipe wall without damaging the pipes.”
collaboration
Dick Klaren conceived the technique in the 1970s. “He first applied it to seawater desalination”, says Marco van Beek, managing director and CTO at Klaren. “The focus was broadened in the 1980s and 1990s following the emergence of energy-efficient membrane technology in seawater desalination. Klaren went on to apply his invention in the pulp and paper and petrochemical industries.” Five years ago, Klaren International partnered with an Indian evaporator manufacturer who contacted them. In addition to incorporating the Klaren technology into customers’ existing systems, they have also teamed up to develop complete multi-effect evaporators (MEE) based on the selfcleaning technology. These MEEs can be made more compact than conventional MEE installations. An Indian dye manufacturer recently commissioned three. “We find our buyers through partners, trade shows, webinars, the website and LinkedIn, among other things”, says Veen. “For example, clients in the textile and chemical industries.” Klaren has a second sales channel in India, thanks to Taprogge. Klaren has been part of this German cleaning systems specialist since 2017, which has offices in Europe, North America and Asia. “We are a great addition to the Taprogge business in that we can take on heavier contamination cases in a wider range of industries”, says Van Beek. Creating and installing an MEE takes nine to twelve months, depending on the size. “We try to do as much as possible on location, partly because of the cost”, says Veen. “We work with local engineers in India, who are managed from Barneveld.”
too early for europe
Asia is currently Klaren’s largest market. “In Asia, industries often choose evaporators to treat industrial wastewater streams”, says Veen. He believes that European companies will also move to zero liquid discharge (ZLD), which is partly the reason for joining the Water Alliance. “It’s still too early for the Western market. Legislation has not yet given European companies much incentive to take that final step. They can still dispose of increasingly specific residual streams at a low cost. This must change because water is becoming increasingly scarce.” Meanwhile, Klaren has also moved into mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) in conjunction with Klaren technology. The process upgrades and reuses the vapour generated from evaporation. “These systems are up to thirty percent more efficient than regular MEEs”, says Van Beek. “The first self-cleaning MVR went into operation late last year.”
Pharmaceutical application
Desalination application
