The next 60 years will undoubtedly introduce new challenges in water treatment. So we’ve recently refined our approach to research and development (R&D), creating a dynamic team of technical specialists and process engineers that can turn ideas into reality.
This team is augmented by legal experts and business development specialists to ensure that any new technology can be scaled – and successfully commercialised.
The team’s multi-disciplinary nature gives us the unique ability to progress solutions from the whiteboard to the water treatment plant. And, by placing innovation at the heart of our business, we ensure that new technologies will continue to tackle society’s biggest challenges.
We work closely with water utilities, public bodies and industries to understand the challenges they face and how our pipeline of research projects can help them.
For example, as regulations for nutrient levels in wastewater tighten, new technologies to remove nitrogen and phosphorus will be essential. And by further optimising these approaches, we aim to enable the recovery of phosphorus as a resource.
New technologies will also be needed to remove emerging contaminants such as micropollutants, microplastics, PFAS, and substances of very high concern from wastewater influent. And, as regulators look to control emissions, water treatment plants will require new methods to reduce the release of greenhouse gases during water treatment.
In our research and development team, sustainability is non-negotiable. No new water treatment technology should generate additional waste or use more chemicals than the existing process.
So, a vital step in the early stages of development is to calculate the carbon footprint. If it’s high at this stage, we might not stop development, but as the project moves forward, we’ll need to see opportunities to improve it.
It’s impossible to take every concept to market alone, and water technology innovation requires an extensive external network. When we see that a new technology has the potential to solve a problem, we look for partners to help bring ideas to life and scale them up into the treatment plant.
Evaluating a technology for up to a year in a real-world setting gives us the confidence that it will work in any environment and in all seasons. More than that, it gives our clients a first look at the technology and how they can use it to solve their problems.
Our R&D team is only one point of what we call a “Golden Triangle” of collaboration between Royal HaskoningDHV, our clients, and academic institutions.
Research never stops, and overcoming the challenges of tomorrow will require new solutions. So, a vital role for the team is to educate, inspire, and nurture the next generation of water tech researchers.
We’ve established long-term partnerships with three Dutch academic institutions: Delft University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research, and Wetsus. And in 2022, Royal HaskoningDHV and Cranfield University, UK, signed a strategic relationship charter to co-create solutions that deliver sustainable and resilient water futures.
Every year, several students visit for internships or to continue their Bachelor’s or Master's degree research in our laboratory. Working alongside students, for up to nine months, allows us to find the brightest new talent and spend time incubating and developing the best new ideas.
A key driver for water technology innovation is to stay one step ahead of changing regulations. The EU’s Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive faces a revision to include, for the first time, targets on micropollutant removal.
But how can treatment plants incorporate extra treatment steps to tackle hard-to-degrade compounds while still meeting targets on energy neutrality and zero emissions?
The Aurea® technology began as PhD research with Wageningen University, TKI Water financed by Royal HaskoningDHV. Key to the process is a biological activated carbon filtration that reduces the amount of organic matter. This ensures that the subsequent ozonation process is more effective at removing micropollutants.
In partnership with water utilities and STOWA, the Dutch Foundation for Applied Water Science, we’ve completed pilot-scale research and we’re about to commence our first full-scale sold installation in a water treatment plant.
We’re extremely proud of this technology. The PhD researcher who started the project has since joined Royal HaskoningDHV, and we continue to research this important area together.
With over 140 years of experience in water consultancy, design, and engineering, we have the domain and digital expertise to help clients solve their most pressing challenges. Our water technology innovation team supports this mission by providing truly end-to-end water treatment services.
How we sustain a pipeline of water technology innovation
The spark for innovation can strike anywhere – from within our talented R&D team, through academic collaboration, or from our clients and other market parties. We nurture an environment where there is value in every idea, whether it’s a brand-new concept or seeing an existing technology in a different way.
Our state-of-the-art laboratory is where those ideas come to life. While our scientists carry out experiments and feasibility studies to validate the concept, the business development team will research the market and the IP space – to reach a go/no-go decision as quickly as possible.
From the laboratory, we’ll go to a pilot scale to check the process works in continuous flow at 1–10 m3 per hour in a real environment and in every season. To do this requires a treatment plant – that’s where our network allows us to demonstrate to them the true value of the technology.
Contact our Water Technology experts!