Waterwhelm is delighted to announce that it has secured a £2 million project to scale-up its technology as part of Ofwat’s Water Breakthrough Challenge.
The project follows the success of the Water Discovery Challenge at the Northumbrian Water Group’s Howdon Sewage Treatment Works in Tyneside, England. The project demonstrated Waterwhelm’s ability to use simulated waste heat in order to produce 5 cubic metres per day of freshwater from the Sewage Treatment Works’ final effluent.
The upcoming £2 million project, named Net Water PositHyve, will see Waterwhelm scale-up its technology to industrial levels to produce 740 cubic metres of freshwater per day from final effluent ‘sewage’ from wastewater treatment at Northumbrian Water’s Bran Sands Sewage Treatment Works. The freshwater produced will be used for industrial consumption, including hydrogen production, to meet rising industry water demands. Net Water PositHyve will demonstrate Waterwhelm’s capacity to utilise low-grade waste heat and wastewater at industrial levels to provide high-quality freshwater, reducing industrial water reliance on potable water networks to pursue sustainable, long-term, water resilience within the industrial water sector. The recycled water will support the needs of the Teesside Industrial Cluster, which currently uses around 54 million litres of water per day, which is enough to supply 380,000 people.
Crucially, “Waterwhelm’s pioneering technology helps meet demand from industry without depleting supplies to household customers.”, Richard Warneford, Wastewater Director, Northumbrian Water Group. “This is a major step forward in sustainable water innovation and we’re very excited about expanding the project. By scaling up this pioneering technology, we’re not only helping industrial sites reduce their environmental impact and reliance on drinking water, but also protecting vital resources for future generations.” Clive Surman-Wells, Innovation Partnerships Manager at Northumbrian Water.
Led by Northumbrian Water and with Waterwhelm as the technology provider, Net Water PositHyve will involve Anglian Water, AtkinsRéalis, University of Bath, SSE Thermal, and Irish Water as partners.
Image credit: Ofwat
