Chemicals, water industries join up to help Europe manage future water needs

BRUSSELS, May 10, 2012  (Update: May 23. includes information on 16 May signing cermony) – Groups representing the European chemical and water industries announced recently that they will form a strategic partnership to make Europe a global leader in water management.

The European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry, SusChem, which Cefic is a founding member, and the WssTP – the Water supply and sanitation Technology Platform – will join up complementary strengths and expertise to form the partnership.

A special signing cermony took place on Wednesday, May 16 in Brussels to formalise the partnership with representatives from both orgnaisations. Cefic Executive Director and SusChem board member Gernot Klotz and WssTP Board Chair Tomas Michel Mayer signed the partnership agreement in the presence of Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik, whose presence provided an extra dimension to the occasion.

Gernot Klotz commented: “The partnership should be a strong double-act with great potential for innovation breakthroughs in both the water and chemical sectors. “It has already received wide-ranging support from EU institutions with whom we have consulted on the project.”

The news comes as the European Commission announced on May 10 the launch of a new European Innovation Partnership, EIP, on water, which the chemical industry is slotted to be one of two main actors in the initiative. The water EIP is part of the EU’s Innovation Union strategy aimed at boosting European innovation in water management by getting promising ideas, products and technologies to market faster.

Strong need for better water management in Europe

Around 57 per cent of freshwater use can be attributed to the industrial sector, with energy production alone accounting for nearly three-fourths of industrial water demand, or 45 percent, of total freshwater consumption. Industrial processes require the remaining 12 per cent. Intensive use of fresh water also occurs in agriculture, where 22 per cent of freshwater is needed, followed by the general public at 21 per cent. All three users compete most for the resource in Europe, increasing the need for an integrated approach to water management.

Klotz added: “The partnership is important for the chemical industry because it is one of the biggest water-consuming industries and one of the biggest providers of water treatment materials and technologies."

About the European Innovation Partnership

The European Innovation Partnership on Water has ambitious objectives, including the need to reduce household water consumption, increase water efficiency in irrigation, decrease the water footprint of all industries, minimise water loss in distribution systems and reduce the energy used in the water sector.

Klotz concluded: “One sector alone cannot tackle water management challenges in Europe because it requires the ability to execute large-scale projects and vast expertise in water technology.

“It is a natural fit because the chemical industry has built a track record of offering the technologies and products vital to the water sector.”

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More information: Annie Mutamba, Cefic Research & Innovation, +32 (0)2 676 7337 or via e-mail: amu@cefic.be.

To learn more about the role of chemistry in integrated water management in Europe, visit www.water-europe.eu

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The chemicals industry’s innovation activities in water include:

• ChemWater: Efficient Water management in process industry A project funded by the European Commission under the seventh Framework Programme, it addresses a key pan-European concern: the efficient management of water in process industry. ChemWater intends to coordinate European strategies on sustainable materials, processes and emerging technologies development. The project started in May 2011 and ends in October 2013. http://chemwater.eu/

• E4Water: Economically and Ecologically Efficient Water Management in the European Chemical Industry • SusChem: European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry. http://www.suschem.org/priorities/water.aspx

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Source internet page: 
http://www.cefic.org/newsroom/top-story/2012/Chemicals-water-industries-join-up-to-help-Europe-manage-future-water-needs-/