Flanders Knowledge Centre Water (Vlakwa) welcomes the invitation to send insights and recommendations for 2018-2020 Work Programme (WP) of H2020 FET Proactive and we want to contribute to FET Proactive part in particular related to FET for societal challenges interactions as well as FET for water and energy nexus.

Vlakwa is a non-profit, an independent division of VITO (Flanders Research institute of technology and Innovation) funded by Flanders government. Vlakwa has more than 20 different stakeholders on his managing board that covers the entire water value chain: research and technology developers (Universities, research centres), Utilities, Suppliers & SMEs, and Large water users (industry) and associations.

Vlakwa, being an active member of the European Technology for Water (WssTP) and EIP on Water is initiating, facilitating and disseminating R&I actions with other strategic European water stakeholder groups and other Flemish actors.

Vlakwa acknowledges the importance of Future Emerging Technologies for the sustainable development of the European water and water-dependent sectors. It underlines emerging needs to address water-related challenges boosting new emerging technologies to support development of these economic sectors, to ensure their water needs by sound integrated management of natural resources, energy, management of land, while ensuring water quality for the citizens. Some selected needs for the future emerging technologies are expressed in this document.

Vlakwa response to this stakeholder consultation has been developed on the basis of the discussions at the WssTP 19 working groups. Vlakwa, together with the other Flemish partners in particular 28 Vlakwa members, takes an active role in contributing of setting priorities for water-related research and innovation, in particular this is related to the R&I needs expressed at WssTP WGs such as Nano4Water, Membrane Technologies, Water and ICT, Water in industry, Resource Recovery, Emerging compounds.

The main water-related challenges, similar to WssTP and, in coordination with needs of R&I in Flanders, are indicated in the response to Question 1. In case of further questions and input needed for the H2020 FET PROACTIVE WP 2018-2020, please do not hesitate to contact Dirk Van Der Stede dvds@vlakwa.be, or Violeta Kuzmickaite (vk@vlakwa.be ).

Response to the Consultation for FET PROACTIVE WP2018-2020

 

Rationale:

Water is a key resource and is a transversal component and one of the biggest global challenges to the society, economy, human health and ecology/nature. Water is already becoming a limiting factor for the economic growth and jobs in certain European regions.

Global challenges and trends show a projected growth in water use[1] with 55% towards 2050, due to rising demands from manufacturing, thermal electricity generation and domestic use, declining water quality due to urban, industrial and agricultural pollution, impacting availability of sufficient quality water for all required uses. These challenges are amplified by water leakage due to outdated infrastructures, and complicated by the unpredictable effects of climate change events, leading to increased complexity and cost for the management of our water cycles. Currently 17% of EU territory faces serious problems related to water scarcity, growing to some 45% of European territory expected to be facing water scarcity problems by 2030. Unless the balance between demand and finite supplies is restored, the world will face an increasingly severe global water deficit.

A paradigm shift is needed in the way we manage our planet and water being our most precious resource that is crucial for human health and wellbeing, as well as economic performance and business growth.

Europe has the chance to turn water challenges into new technological and societal opportunities in developing and deploying comprehensive new technologies for water-related activities at various scales and in various cycles, lifecycles and value chains.

FET focusses on research and innovation and supports visionary thinking to open new paths of interdisciplinary collaboration to support turning new knowledge into viable basis for their application. Thus FET Proactive initiative putting new technological developments for water as a strategic priority will enable to make an impact for Europe's economy, society and citizens.

The key solutions will be found in closing our water loops to a much higher extent, valorising re-use for different purposes, and making new water sources such as brackish, salty and rain water available as an integrated part of our water management, leading to a key paradigm shift towards “multiple waters, for multiple purposes and multiple users”.

This shift will be generated by exploiting the existing and continuously developing new technologies, by translating research into concrete technological developments to be taken up by the industries to address water challenges in different water cycles at different scales (industrial, district, urban, regional, inter-regional, river basin).

Water-related economic activities (water-dependent industry and water services) in Europe in broad terms need development of new cross-sectorial and inter-disciplinary technologies (such as KETs, FETs, FGTs - future growing technologies), deploying them in industrial roadmaps and designing of new business models for their exploitation. For example, water-related economy needs development and exploitation of high performance computing systems, cloud computing systems for water and for environmental ecosystem services to ensure sustainable and integrated water management at various scales and various cycles (industrial, district- synergetic, urban, regional, river basin, interregional, international) and value chains.

The complexity of the interactions hinders the ability to make decisions concerning technology development/implementation focus. New, system-wide computing and measuring tools are required that allow informed decision making on varying scales in space and time concerning water, food, energy, biodiversity and other water-related nexuses. The spatial scale reaches from water basin to global, the time scale from long term for policy development, to (almost) real-time, allowing e.g. informed short term water distribution decisions.

The technologies used today in relation to economy, linked to or dependent on water, will not support the requirements of the next decades. Thus new FETs including high performance computing (HPC) approaches, systems, technologies and methodologies linked to a precious smart water resource management are required. Future emerging technologies (FETs) in water and for water are playing an indispensable role for the sector development and solutions to overcome grand societal challenges linked to water.

We underline that FETs are needed for water:

1. to drastically reduce pollution from a growing number of emerging pollutants (such as pharmaceuticals, plastics, nano- and micro- particles appearing in various water cycles we use), restoring bio-diversity, and increasing resource efficiency of our industrial system,

2. to harvest energy captured in residual water streams, various substances and critical materials (e.g. nutrients) from wastewater as a new resource within the circular economy, linking wastewater and waste streams in process and other industries.

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   To ensure new ways functioning and interacting of nexuses such as water-energy-materials-agro-food-biodiversity, and the way water is used, re-used and/or recycled, preserved and/or redeveloped, and, in more general - to ensure a quality of life, health and sustainability in the EU and globally.

We need to work towards a sustainable European society to ensure right water for the right purpose to the right users.

Therefore, WP2018-2020 of H2020 needs to realise water-smart Europe trans-disciplinary agenda with new approaches and mind-set changes to the scientific knowledge in co-design, co-deliver technological, organisational, managerial and social research involving the whole innovation process (from demand to supply) and innovative solutions for water. It is essential to ensure social acceptability of smart solutions and their uptake and that value for water and value in water are transparently taken into account.

A systemic R&I agenda with multi-sectorial and multi-actor approach including water component is the must in the new WP 2018-2020.

 

Vlakwa highlights that in the EU research and innovation policy and opportunities for funding, water theme must remain an independent focus area itself in H2020 part of societal challenges, but it is equally important that water remains as well as a cross-cutting theme in the entire H2020 structure and in particular a continuous support of FET actions is needed to ensure development of new technologies to support water-related smart economy and creating water-smart society.

Vlakwa would like to express the following strategic considerations: (a) to strengthen systemic eco-innovations, (b) to indicate the needs for promoting FETs for water in H2020 via pilot actions and applications of FET for water in various cycles, and (c) to cover full research and innovation cycle, facilitating collaborative and end-user driven research for resilient society creating robust water systems in Europe.

FETs for water play an important role in the development of water sector and water-dependent economic activities. Vlakwa articulates that water has to be the one of the key focus areas of H2020 FET WP2018-2020 and highlights the following themes to be addressed in the new calls for water sector presented below.

 

 

1. The big picture: Describe your vision for a game-changing future technology for water. Why is it new? What difference would it make for Europe's economy, society and citizens?

 

We need

1. To increase functionality of FETs to support sustainability, resource efficiency and various nexuses interactions in water and water-dependent sectors of the societal activities.

2. FETs for High Performance Computing systems and development of FET applications in water. For example, to support industrial symbiosis, water-energy-resource efficiency-food nexuses, new algorithmic approaches on assessment and decision-support and forecasting systems of extreme climatic events at various scales (global, regional, river basin/sub-basin, local); for addressing emerging pollutants (including pharmaceuticals, micro/nano plastics) in water. In particular, we need:

   1. Advanced sensor systems (micro-, nano- and detection systems), smart metering technologies, monitoring, DSS, mathematical modelling, high performance computing (HPC) systems and components for future real-time applications for rational use/management of various water systems and cycles;

   2. UV-LED and membrane technologies, including hybrid membrane systems for treatment, desalination, disinfection/germ reduction, water reuse, LCA for membranes, etc.;

   3. Detection and laboratory comprehensive methods, techniques and eco-toxicological risk assessment systems (e.g. DSS) for various types of water (‘right quality for right purpose for water use’);

   4. Risk-assessment methods and tools of micro-pollutants and their breakdown products, micro-pollutants detection, monitoring and sensoring methods and FETs;

   5. FETs for removal of micro-pollutants, including emerging pathogens and other pollutants such as pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals, using adsorptive (e.g. activated carbon) and oxidative (e.g ozonation) treatment processes,

   6. Developing eco-friendly alternatives to reduce the release of harmful substances,

   7. FET solutions for extraction and/or recovery of critical materials and nutrients from, for e.g. industrial wastewater and brines (especially brines coming from brackish water).

3. To develop applications of digital systems and new IT systems for water to ensure safe and secure water supply and water quality, water treatment and the use of the value of data and smart water cycles (FET and LEIT-ICT parts of H2020). For example, we need

   1. Innovative sensors and nano-based treatment trains for emerging pollutants towards zero pollution;

   2. Water demand forecasting IT systems, optimal operation of distribution network, on line monitoring of water resources using distributed smart sensors, advanced monitoring of leaks, fault-tolerant control technologies in critical water infrastructure systems;

   3. To develop new KETs/FETs for water to support closed looping in urban, rural, industrial context supporting new solutions for a circular economy/industrial symbiosis;

   4. To create ICT-water-energy nexus approaches, in particular to support the optimisation of water distribution, and management of all types of water in urban areas, e.g., to have smart control and management systems that optimize the use of renewable energy sources in desalination, etc.

 

 

 

2. The work needed: What are the main breakthroughs in water-related sector that a proactive initiative on this would need to achieve? What range of disciplines and stakeholders should be involved?

 

 

Within Part 1 of Horizon 2020, there is a need:

1. To change the approach to FETs: to ensure that we do focus on functionality of FETs and not only on technology in order to support sustainability and resource efficiency in water and water-dependent sectors, as for example, we need

   1. to strengthen data management services, to enhance the trend to produce locally (to produce more by using less resources!),

   2. to encourage cross-sectorial transfer of solutions, thus

   3. to foster innovation collaboration and to promote more sustainable industry, while taking into account risk management and decision-making.

2. To develop and/or expand innovative HPC systems in water–related economic areas and services, and multidisciplinary applications for the support of economic growth and competitiveness and smart jobs creation in Europe. It also involves a facilitation of innovative HPC solutions, interoperability of tools for water when predicting and managing large scale catastrophes, water, energy and resource efficiency and recovery.

3. To brace shaping high-potential innovative technological solutions and FET applications in water: (a) in addressing emerging pollutants in water to include them into industry research and innovation roadmaps and value chains; (b) for the resource and energy recovery and the extraction and/or recovery of critical materials and other substances from various (in particular industrial) wastewater streams to support fostering a circular economy development in Europe at various scales, thus, strengthening growth and new jobs.

4. To strengthen visualisation and communication of complex interactions, big data, earth observation data, sensor/smart metering data (water quality, food production, energy consumption, etc.).

5. To strengthen further development of nanotechnologies for water and use of nano-enabled systems for water, ranging from desalination to disinfection and recalcitrant organic pollutants elimination. Nanotechnologies are one of the enabling technologies, considered to be of systemic importance for the innovative capacity of a wide range of industries and the economy as a whole. The emerging field of nanotechnology has the potential to lead (and has already led) to substantial advances in many sectors, but for water sector is of a particular importance. Nanotechnology has emerged as an exciting and promising science in the battle of water purification and wastewater treatment. Looking at the nanoscale has stimulated the development and use of novel and cost-effective technologies for nanoselective separations, catalytic degradation, adsorptive removal, and detection of contaminants as well as other environmental concerns. There is wide recognition that it could prove to be one of the research and industry strengths of the European research and innovation system. We need

6. To develop and use of novel and cost-effective technologies for: nanoselective separations, catalytic degradation and adsorptive removal, detection of contaminants, anti-fouling properties. On the other hand, we need to have new technologies to ensure nanoparticle safety and environment issues (non-technological barriers).

7. To develop technologies and techniques enable to analyse ecotoxicological impacts of nanoparticles and the potential for bioaccumulation in plants and microorganisms are also considered, as nanoparticles are considered to present novel environmental impacts. Consequently, advances in nanometrology is critical to track and quantify exposures, understand transformations, and model nanomaterials in various matrices, and perhaps the prerequisite for using nanomaterials in nano-enabled systems should include the ability to assess their presence prior to product sales.

 

We need to support the needs of relevant EU water, waste, environmental, resource efficiency and resource recovery, health, and research & innovation policies and to increase timely knowledge about scientific evidence on new technologies such as resource recovery, alternative energy sources, next generation biofuels, water treatment.

There is a need of water sector to establish a closer link to the other ETPs, in particular to ETP for High Performance Computing (HPC) systems, as currently the European economy is based on (among the other important factors) the availability of water resources in merging digital and physical worlds (= ICT & water).

 

 

 

3. The opportunity: What makes you believe that, with suitable time and investment, this can be achieved? Are there developments in science or society that make it plausible? What will drive this to real innovation and impact?

 

 

It is obvious that water resources and other natural resources are becoming scarce and water demand in the globalisation, urbanisation and climate change context is becoming the barrier for our economy, society and environment. Therefore, now is the moment to address profoundly FETs functionality for water-related innovations.

 

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[1] According to the OECD, by the middle of the century water demand will increase by 55% compared with 2015 levels, mainly due to growing demands from manufacturing, thermal electricity generation and domestic use.