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Wetsus and TU Delft have won the silver award in the prestigious International Water Association’s (IWA) Project Innovation Award in the category “Breakthroughs in Research and Development”. It was handed out at the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition, the 13th of September in Copenhagen, Denmark. Out of 203 entries from 52 countries, the technology for magnetically extracting the valuable element phosphorus from wastewater – ViviMag® – came out as one of the three winners with the silver award.
The IWA is the world’s largest water association with members in 140 countries. It is a platform where innovation and adoption come together to a better global water use. ViviMag® is such an innovation – aiming for valorizing wastes, driving European resource independence, and combatting pollution of natural waters. The ViviMag technology was developed by Wetsus and TU Delft, in cooperation with Kemira, STOWA, water authority Brabantse Delta, Vandcenter Syd, Aquaminerals, Aquacare and Waterschapsbedrijf Limburg. Recently also Royal Haskoning DHV joined the development. The pilot phase was realised with financial funding from EIT Raw Materials, an EU innovation community.
ViviMag started with fundamental research by Wetsus and TU Delft that identified that vivianite is a key mineral in sewage treatment plants. The paramagnetic property of this mineral was then exploited to recover the vivianite from sewage sludge using magnetic separation equipment borrowed from the mining industry, thus creating a nice example of “urban mining”. With financial support of the European EIT Raw Materials program this approach was successfully piloted at the Breda sewage treatment plant of the Dutch water authority Brabantse Delta.
Kemira is now the patent owner and takes the lead in the further upscaling of this approach. Kemira is a global leader in sustainable chemical solutions for water intensive industries. An important step is a second continuous pilot installation that is now running in Germany in partnership with Veolia. Further tests are planned in Denmark and The Netherlands. Plans for a first demonstration plant in The Netherlands are already being worked out.
“We are very thrilled to get this recognition for our development. Our society is facing a lot of environmental challenges in a very near future, and we really need to speed up innovation in the water sector. ViviMag® is a prime example of how basic scientific insights combined with a visionary collaboration with both private and public partners can lead to radical new solutions for our common future,” says ir. Leon Korving – Wetsus’ lead in the project. Prof. Mark van Loosdrecht (TU Delft) adds: “The project is a nice example of how curiosity driven research in an engineering environment can lead to innovative solutions for societal problems”.
Abstract
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Abstract
In his key note he will conclude after a life of innovations that it is impossible that humanity will stay within the save planetary boundaries with innovation only. We should be more critical about the behaviour of the rich population in the world and more critical about new innovations that prove to be dangerous, like the PFAS crisis shows at this moment. In his keynote he will investigate how to look at the world that can stay within the save planetary boundaries, how should we change ourselves? It is clear if we only talk about the words of science and systems we miss the essential words of how we should cooperate and change ourselves. And his search for coherent save innovations. Which innovations will be save and will lead to a fair and sustainable world? And will lead to a world we want to live in.
Abstract
There is a growing number of new sustainable, inclusive, cohesive, participatory, just and humane economic models. A possible next step in the discourse about them is the comparative analysis in order to find out key commonalities, potential synergies, and “requirements” for a future-fit economic model. The author and initiator of the Economy for the Common Good provides an overview of these „new sustainable economic models“ and compares them according to underlying values, principles, and practical ways of implementation. The keynote addresses the cooperative spirit of the conference and prepares the ground for its public highlight on the eve of June 3rd, the round table with representatives of diverse future-fit economic models.
Abstract
The scientific debate on whether economies should always continue to grow increasingly becomes a political and societal debate. On the one hand further growth for the most affluent countries seems neither possible nor valuable, but on the other hand there is still lack of understanding and knowledge what a non-growing economy should look like and could best be governed. In this lecture we discuss various policy measures that can be realistically implemented, take into account government finances and aim at a higher quality of life despite a non-growing economy.
Abstract
Democracy is under pressure, and less and less able to stir the economy into a sustainable direction. Therefore, to stabilize democracy and to make possible the socio-ecological transformation of the economy, democratic principles need to be implemented directly in the economy. This is not only a matter of morality, but also has practical advantages. Democratizing the economy can increase legitimacy and take advantage of the “knowledge of the many” to accelerate the transformation. Democratic practices, especially deliberation, allow bringing together different forms of knowledge, which is crucial for the local implementation of principles of social and ecological sustainability. This talk explores what this idea means in more concrete terms, from democratic participation in the workplace to the democratization of time.
Abstract
Over the past decades, markets have conventionally been seen as the best instrument to stimulate economic growth and enhance prosperity and well-being. The automatic link between markets and economic growth is increasingly questioned, however, as well as the automatic link between economic growth and enhancement of well-being. This has led to attempts to capture well-being development more directly than through GDP per capita figures and has produced a more variegated picture of well-being growth. Also, this has led to a shift of focus to other coordination systems than the market, as primarily the state but increasingly also the association. Analyses of the historical record suggest that especially the latter could be a vital component in future well-being.
