RESURGENCE: Aquaporin joins project for innovative water treatment solutions

Twenty partners from 11 countries have joined forces to work on water treatment in the pulp & paper, chemical, and steel sectors, and herein exploring synergies between urban water treatment and industrial operations through innovative solutions through the EU-funded RESURGENCE project.

With a comprehensive approach integrating efficient technologies and digital solutions for water circularity, energy, and feedstock recovery for EU process industries, RESURGENCE aims to significantly contribute to EU climate neutrality, circularity, and competitiveness. 

At Aquaporin, the project will be closely followed by Jörg Vogel, Vice President of Open Innovation, and he is looking forward to working closely with the many stakeholders.

“We have a competent team with a lot of great partners. We are all bringing a lot of industry know-how, and we can develop great, innovative solutions together,” says Jörg Vogel. 

At the core of RESURGENCE are innovative solutions for water treatment. These solutions will enhance water quality and facilitate the recovery of energy and valuable feedstocks. In addition to technological advancements, RESURGENCE will develop and apply digital tools such as energy, water, risk management models, physical and software sensors for data acquisition, digital twins, and decision-support tools. These tools will optimize water treatment technology setup and day-to-day operations. 

The project will focus on four case studies spread over Portugal, Turkey, Poland, and Spain, encompassing the pulp & paper, chemical, and steel sectors.

Ready to rumble 

For two days, the 20 partners met in the Spanish city of A Coruña for the inaugural kick-off meeting. It also marked the official launch of all activities related to the project.

The four-year project is funded by Horizon Europe and coordinated by CETIM. With a consortium of 20 partners from 11 countries, including international cooperation with Turkey and Pakistan, RESURGENCE aims to create seeds for future circularity hubs, working towards a significant and lasting impact. Aquaporin will provide membranes and provide know-how on water treatment for the project.

“We are proud to participate in this project and help develop new innovative solutions across industries. Water treatment has improved significantly over the years, and implementing technologies like Aquaporin Inside can help the green transition further,” says Jörg Vogel.

The coordinator of the project, Rebeca Varela, European Project Office Manager at CETIM, expressed her enthusiasm for the project’s launch, stating: “At CETIM we are thrilled to start this adventure together with such a great consortium, representing the top tier EU research and industrial partners and the most innovative consultants. Helping industries in their transition towards a green digital future is part of our DNA at CETIM, and RESURGENCE is a great opportunity to continue to contribute to this goal at the EU level”.

RESURGENCE technical leader Xuefei Yang, a Researcher from the ECO BIO technologies Area at CETIM, believes: “I am very excited to launch this comprehensive project, in partnership with our EU and international partners. By employing innovative water treatment technologies, optimizing process management, and leveraging intelligent data analysis, we are committed to achieve a closed-loop system for industrial wastewater treatment.”

About Aquaporin
Aquaporin is an innovative water technology company dedicated to natural water treatment with operations in Denmark (HQ), China, Singapore, Turkey, and the United States. Aquaporin works to preserve the Earth’s most valuable resource – water – by combining advanced bioengineering, open innovation, and natural aquaporins – nature's own water purifiers – which they embed into water purification membranes. Their proprietary technology, Aquaporin Inside®, is based on Nobel Prize-winning research and used to clean and reuse water in industries, in our homes, and even by NASA in space. Aquaporin works with customers and partners around the globe to sustainably treat industrial wastewater, concentrate food & beverage products, and enhance drinking water quality and accessibility.