Partners

Our networking SME-company has developed the Zero Discharge – Willow Wastewater System back in September 1996. From 1997 the company has worked as a consultant company for these systems and enhanced the development and technology further towards new ways of utilizing natural systems for wastewater, heavy metal contaminated wastewater, systems storm water, surface water from mainly farms and food industries. During twenty years of work, the target for our R&D has been to turn nutrients in wastewater to resources instead of polluters. Our willow systems are energy producing instead of consuming. The planted filters are low energy consuming but the target is to make them producing.

So far our advices has been used for facilities for more than 5000 households in Denmark, Nordic Countries, Ireland, England, Germany, Belarus, Mozambique and China mainly in rural areas, but during the recent years it has also been used for new settlements with ecological/ organic frames in Denmark.     

Among others we have done:

·        Zero-Discharge Willow Systems for household wastewater for single households as well as villages up to 73 households. A new settlement planning for 90 households.

·        Planted filters for household wastewater in DK up to 50 persons, in China up to 1000 m3 per day.

Isle is an independent technology and innovation consultancy that brings together technical and commercial specialists to understand the market and facilitate relationships. Our passion for innovation, working with early stage companies, and market acceleration of new technology is clear. We bring new technologies to market through our established framework to support innovation, technology development, strategy and growth and investment. We have a strong track record of establishing networks of technology end-users that are looking to increase their uptake of new and innovative low carbon technologies through our global water and wastewater innovation forum - the Technology Approval Group (TAG). In many cases our access to different networks and clusters has given us excellent knowledge and understanding around the framework for innovation activities within the sector, as well as extensive contacts and relationships.

BIOTREND is a research-based SME focused on the development, optimization, de-risking and scale-up of bioprocesses for industrial biotechnology. BIOTREND carries out research aiming at the production of bio-based chemicals, materials and fuels from renewable raw materials. Further, we actively participate in collaborative projects in the fields of the bioeconomy, nanobiotechnology and marine biotechnology. Our team's expertise includes biotechnology, chemical engineering, organic chemistry, and analytical chemistry. The core activity of BIOTREND is the development of novel bioprocesses and their transition from lab scale to bioprocesses that can be implemented in production scale, process integration and early evaluation of the technical and economical feasibility of processes before investment in higher scale trials are performed.

IBET is a private non-profit research intensive institution with the mission to integrate and strengthen biological and biochemical knowledge from its academic and industrial partners into technology and transfer it into economic wealth and job creation. IBET comprises 16 laboratories and a bio pilot plant, with access to fermentation and downstream processing skills and equipment. IBET has coordinated over 20 international projects and has participated as work-package leader in more than 40 projects supported by the EC. IBET has been involved in the production of biopolymers from wastes and wastewaters both at lab scale and pilot scale. The IBET team has significant expertise in research in bioengineering, microbiology and modelling, particularly on the use of mixed microbial based processes for biopolymer production (e.g. polyhydroxyalkanoates - PHA) and resource recovery from residues, including PHA production via photofermentation.

DTI is an independent, private, non-profit research organization that develops, applies and disseminates science and technology for the benefit of the industrial sector and society. DTI has extensive experience in surface science and technology and is involved in several projects bringing R&D focused universities, RTDs and industrial partners together to utilize the developed knowledge for the benefit of SMEs. Functional Coating, one of the business units of DTI, has worked with coating and sol-gel technology addressing issues pertinent to industrial use for than 10 years. The research group will contribute their broad R&D expertise to this project, and the latest knowledge of development and application of coatings based on advanced sol-gel technology. DTI will be involved in the development and application of new adsorption technologies for N and P retrieval. N and P scavengers will be immobilized sol-gel matrixes for enhanced and optimized nutrient recovery and release.

The Environmental Technology Group (EnvTech) from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at the University of Valladolid (UVa) started its research activities in the early 80s in the treatment of industrial wastewaters and biological nutrient removal. Other research lines such as biological gas treatment, microalgae-based wastewater treatment and biomass valorization were initiated in 2000. More than 35 years of expertise in design and operation of wastewater treatment processes, 16 of them related to microalgae-based wastewater treatment, biological gas treatment and microalgae valorization, support the capacity of the group to conduct the tasks assigned in INCOVER. Nowadays, EnvTech is composed of 2 full professors, 8 associate professors, 7 post-docs, 15 PhD students and 5 technicians. In addition, the academic and scientific productivity of the group during these past 5 years accounted for 15 PhD theses presented, 148 JCR articles, 4 patents and 150 contributions to International Congresses.

Aqualia is the third largest water management company in Europe, and is a key element of the FCC group, a worldwide provider of infrastructure and citizen services. The company offers tailored solutions to the environmental needs of public institutions and private agencies, covering the entire integral water cycle and integrating municipal, agricultural and industrial activities. The organization is present in more than 1,100 municipalities in 22 countries and serves a population of over 22.5 million people worldwide: Spain, Italy, Portugal, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Mexico,  Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Algeria, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Kosovo, Tunisia, Qatar and India. Last year, the company had a turnover of 1.033 million euros. Aqualia’s organizational structure is oriented to the constant search for improved efficiency in production processes and resources optimization, using the latest technology and with a clear focus on the customer. 

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Germany, was established in 1991 as the first and only centre in the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centres to be exclusively devoted to environmental research in a great variety of fields. The working group ‘Steering and Innovation’ at the Department ‘Environmental and Biotechnology Centre’ focuses on assessing and consulting environmental and biotechnology development. Its activities support process design, infrastructure and investment decisions using Life-Cycle Sustainability Assessment tools like Life-Cycle costing, LCA, and multi-criteria optimization.