Technological Centre

REWAISE, an H2020 project for the creation of a digital infrastructure and an “intelligent water ecosystem”

Recently, the European Commission has approved H2020 REWAISE project. The project, led by FCC Aqualia, will last five years and is made up of a consortium of 25 partners, including CETIM. The main objective of REWAISE is to create a new “intelligent water ecosystem”, developing an intelligent digital infrastructure to provide water services and for decentralised decision-making, involving all stakeholders to make society perceive the true value of water and raise awareness for the reduction of energy and fresh water consumption, obtaining a sustainable water cycle with a very low carbon footprint, in line with resilient circular economy concept.

 

REWAISE project will create a network of 9 “living labs” distributed throughout the European geography, so that the different climates of the continent are covered. These pilots will demonstrate on a real scale the functioning of innovative operational technologies and new management methods that contribute to ensure a safe and sustainable water supply for European society.

 

REWAISE – to an intelligent water ecosystem.

 

 

At REWAISE, CETIM will develop the process for obtaining polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) from organic matter in wastewater. PHA is a biodegradable polymer produced by microorganisms, with mechanical properties similar to the most common thermoplastics such as PET or Polypropylene. We will also design and build a pilot plant to obtain PHA in order to reduce the cost of obtaining it.

 

CETIM will also investigate different electrochemical ways to recover lithium from brines. We will start the research at laboratory scale in order to design and build a functional prototype with the acquired knowledge.

 

Finally, CETIM is also in charge of leading the work package that includes the tasks of evaluation of key indicators, life cycle analysis (from the development of the different technologies to their implementation in the pilot plants) and risks and vulnerabilities assessment.