“Knowledge of water, revenue for the future”
The Water Technology sector provides top-quality water and in so doing keeps pressure on the living environment as low as possible. Dutch knowledge and technology, developed to produce drinking and industrial water of the highest level, is applied and sold worldwide. This also applies to our knowledge and technology regarding the purification and reuse of wastewater.
The international market for water technology is large and mainly offers opportunities for local and integrated solutions for the supply of water and for technology for the use and reuse of freshwater. For all components of the Water Technology sector, four innovation themes have been formulated:
• Water for All
• More Crop per Drop
• Water & Energy
• Water & IT
Water for All
Water for All comprises the production of drinking and industrial water, and the purification of wastewater at a minimum cost. The scope of this market is estimated globally at €50-60 billion per year. The strong growth of this market is in line with the rising global need for freshwater as a source of drinking and industrial water. New wastewater purification technology is needed to be able to provide a sustainable, good quality supply of water without burdening the environment. The demand for this technology is in part driven by more stringent legislation and higher quality standards.
More Crop per Drop
More Crop per Drop focuses on a high quality freshwater supply for food production. There is much to be gained by using innovative and sustainable solutions for closing water cycles and by reusing water in the agriculture and horticulture sectors. As an extension of the agriculture and horticulture sectors, the food industry is facing the challenge of dealing efficiently with scarce raw materials and making processes more sustainable as a condition for a license to produce.
Water & Energy
Water & Energy focuses on making the processes for the energy production industry more sustainable and on new forms of clean energy based on water technology. The use of water in the energy sector is continuing to rise. With the growth of the world’s population and the growing demand for energy, this trend must be reversed. The expectation is that alternative forms of energy generation based on water technology will contribute to the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
Water & IT
Water & IT focuses on expanding the efficiency of water technology by checking water quality using automatic sensing & monitoring, and on optimal control of the water chain (process control). This offers opportunities to significantly improve the processes of water treatment plants as well as opportunities for a decentralised fit-for-use water treatment.