Know-how firms Microsoft and Apple have been recognised alongside Martens Brewery and utilities Thames Water and Severn Trent Water as recipients of the Lighthouse Awards 2024, offered to organisations leveraging innovation to guard and improve water provides globally.
Launched in 2020 by the Courageous Blue World Basis, a non-profit devoted to scientific and academic storytelling, the Lighthouse Awards determine pioneers who’ve shone a path to water resilience and safety for others to observe. They’ve developed new methods of utilizing expertise in collaboration to scale back their impression in water confused areas or construct resilience in native water techniques.
Founding father of the Courageous Blue World Basis, Paul O’Callaghan stated, “The water challenges we face on the world scale are immense, however nice minds and improvements are being delivered to bear. For the Lighthouse Awards, we search out inspirational collaborations, typically between very new and agile expertise start-ups, working intently with world firms and utilities, that present the way in which.
“These are the pioneers we will all come to follow, and the award-winning projects are examples of how we can act to ensure there is enough freshwater for future generations and their scalability is a major consideration of the judges. We hope to inspire others in the corporate world and beyond to take bold steps towards creating a sustainable water future and raise greater awareness of the fascinating work happening in the global water community.”
Number of the winners is carried out by adjudicators from expertise market intelligence firm BlueTech Analysis, and is predicated on a variety of standards. This yr’s themes had been water loss, various provides, water reuse and useful resource restoration.
The 4 collaborations receiving the Lighthouse Awards 2024 are:
AI deployed to scale back leakage in London – Microsoft, Thames Water and FIDO Tech
This collaboration is aimed toward addressing water losses from leakage in London and the broader Thames Water area. FIDO Tech, recognized for its AI-driven options for leak detection, is leveraging Microsoft’s technological infrastructure to reinforce its capabilities.
This partnership goals to assist Microsoft’s dedication to turning into water optimistic by 2030 by lowering non-revenue water via AI-powered leak detection, which is anticipated to save lots of tens of millions of cubic metres of water yearly. Thames Water goals to scale back leakage by 20% by 2025 and halve it by 2050, performing over 1,300 repairs weekly.
Rainwater provide for colleges in Vietnam – Apple and Gravity Water
This partnership is bringing secure, clear water to 131 colleges in northern Vietnam, and is related with Apple’s water technique to deal with water availability, water high quality and water accessibility in its provide chain around the globe. With its rainwater harvesting and filtration expertise, Gravity Water is offering over 38,000 college students in Hòa Bình province with a clear water supply.
The partnership has mixed the Gravity Water Field for standardised remedy with built-in low-tech sensors and cloud-based internet-of-things (IoT) for effectivity. A local weather training toolkit to show college students about water conservation has additionally been developed. The companions say these steps symbolize a big leap ahead in offering secure water entry and fostering water stewardship among the many subsequent technology.
Driving water effectivity in brewing – Martens Brewery and Waterleau
This Belgian partnership has seen Martens Brewer turn out to be probably the most water environment friendly brewer in Europe. Waterleau has redesigned the wastewater remedy plant at its largest website in Kaulille, beneath a design-build-finance-operate mannequin, with a 10-year financing settlement.
The redesigned plant contains superior remedy applied sciences resembling high-rate anaerobic towers, cardio remedy, high-recovery reverse osmosis (RO), and a heating-cooling circuit with a warmth pump. The high-recovery RO membranes allow 90% of the effluent to be reused as course of water, requiring just one.2 litres of water per liter of beer produced.
The anaerobic towers facilitate vitality effectivity by treating excessive natural masses and producing 1750 Nm3/day of biogas, which powers a mixed warmth & energy unit. The partnership introduces the WaterLease mannequin, providing a capex-free improve and focusing monetary sources on brewing capability growth.
Waterleau will function the plant, incorporating the SmartLab digital suite for distant monitoring and optimisation.
Recovering cellulose from sewage for reuse – CirTec, Severn Trent Water, AtkinsRealis and JN Bentley
This ground-breaking collaboration includes development of the world’s first large-scale cellulose restoration plant at UK utility Severn Trent’s Internet Zero Hub sewage remedy works in Strongford, Staffordshire. Cellulose restoration specialist Cirtec, based mostly within the Netherlands, removes bathroom paper residue from sewage and recycles it right into a useful, sustainable materials that can be utilized for different functions resembling insulation or development merchandise.
At Strongford, digestible natural residual streams and cellulose are extracted from influent and retreated onsite to supply biogas and new supplies. The cellulose is dried and sanitised prepared for conversion into marketable merchandise with potential use in development and insulation.
The undertaking signifies a significant development in useful resource restoration and sustainability in wastewater remedy, to scale back waste, preserve sources, and shield the surroundings.
