RECOGNITION OF THE CONTINUOUS AND INNOVATIVE ADVANCEMENT OF DESALINATION AND WATER REUSE TECHNOLOGIES
In our next XIII International Congress hosted in the wonderful city of Granada on June 13th to 15th, we want to recognize the efforts of the most outstanding people, organizations and companies working in our sector. That is why we propose to make the 1st EDITION OF THE AEDyR INTERNATIONAL AWARDS, which we have divided into five (5) categories.
The AWARDS will recognize the most outstanding projects, investigations, leaders and companies that, through their individual management or as a group, give added value for the continuous and innovative progress in the integration of Desalination Treatment and Water Reuse Technologies, in order to guarantee the access and efficient use of water resources.
CATEGORIES
EXCELLENCE
Award for the Company, Project or Technology that has contributed most to the development and evolution of Desalination and/or Reuse of water.
INNOVATION
Award for the Company, Project, financing or Technology that has proposed the best Innovation in the field of Desalination and/or Water Reuse.
SUSTAINABILITY
Award to the Company, Project, funding or Technology that has contributed the most to sustainability and the UN SDGs in the field of Desalination and/or Water Reuse.
COMMUNICATION
Award to the Entity, Campaign, Blog, Media or Person who has made the best contribution to positive and truthful communication for the development and applications of Desalination and/or Water Reuse.
HUMANITARIAN INITIATIVE
Project, initiative or actions that have contributed to highlight the use of water treatment plants in critical moments such as catastrophes, prolonged droughts, conflicts, critical lack of resources or natural disasters.
AWARDED AND FINALISTS SHORTLIST
EXCELLENCE
AWARDED
ACCIONA AGUA, presented by ACCIONA AGUA
In recent years, ACCIONA has made a significant contribution to the development of the desalination and reuse market worldwide and specifically in Spain and the Middle East, given the widespread shortage of water resources in recent years. ACCIONA Agua has more than 80 benchmark desalination plants with an installed capacity of almost 6M cubic metres per day, with some of the most important desalination plants built worldwide and providing water to almost 30 million people thanks to all the desalination plants built. In water reuse, ACCIONA has 85 water reuse projects for agriculture around the world with a capacity of 5.7 m3 of managed capacity and more than 26 million equivalent population supplied.
FINALIST
TAWEELAH, presented by ABENGOA AGUA
The Taweelah desalination plant is the world’s leading reference in terms of sustainability in the desalination sector. In terms of operational capacity, Taweelah is the largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in the world, thanks to its 909,218 m3/day of production capacity. It guarantees supply to the emirate of Abu Dhabi (it could supply water to up to 4.5 million people), in the United Arab Emirates, and is the first large-scale plant in the emirate to combine the production of drinking water with the generation of clean energy, thanks to the installation of a 70 MWp photovoltaic solar field. In this way, the Taweelah desalination plant sustainably reduces its own energy demand.
FINALIST
GS INIMA ENVIRONMENT, presented by GS INIMA ENVIRONMENT
The history of desalination cannot be understood without the history of GS Inima. Thanks to its track record, GS Inima has become one of the leading and benchmark companies in the water sector, and the company that has contributed the most to the development and evolution of Desalination, Purification and Reuse of water for more than six decades.
INNOVATION
AWARDED
ENVIRONMENTAL GENOMICS FOR WATER QUALITY MONITORING, submitted by LABORATORIOS TECNOLÓGICOS DE LEVANTE
Environmental genomics has enabled the development of this new standardised DNA-based molecular method for the determination of diatom community composition in freshwater, assessing the ecological status based on the Elements of Biological Quality. This proposal represents a significant advance in the efficiency, sustainability and accessibility of technologies in the water sector in Spain and can be applied to various areas of water treatment. This metabarcoding technology is within the reach of public administrations that carry out water quality assessments quickly and economically.
FINALIST
AZUD WATERTECH DWE SW VERSATILE SOLAR, presented by SISTEMA AZUD
The AZUD WATERTECH DWE SW VERSATILE SOLAR water treatment plant was created to ensure access to drinking water for isolated populations or in emergency situations, such as natural disasters or wars, allowing drinking water to be obtained from any source of supply; fresh, brackish or sea water. As it is very difficult to obtain electricity in these situations, the plant allows energy to be obtained from solar panels or by means of a generator. In addition, its batteries can store surplus energy for up to 24 hours of autonomy or to supply the population for other uses.
FINALIST
ACCIONA WATER INNOVATION DEPARTMENT, presented by ACCIONA WATER
ACCIONA’s Innovation Department, Water business, is the unit that coordinates all the company’s innovative activities. Perfectly aligned with ACCIONA’s business lines, it is focused on developing solutions for the entire water cycle: desalination, drinking water treatment, purification and reuse, including a digital and transformative approach.
SUSTAINABILITY
AWARDED
SACYR, SACYR AGUA, presented by SACYR AGUA
Sacyr and its subsidiary Sacyr Agua are companies that have demonstrated their commitment to sustainability. What is special about this candidacy is that the actions we are presenting are certified by different rating agencies. Sacyr has been rated in 2023 as the most sustainable company in the infrastructure and construction sector in Spain and fourth worldwide, according to the Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating. First company in the sector to verify its Water Footprint with AENOR. Thanks to the desalination and reuse of Sacyr Agua, it is the first company to be certified as Water positive. Initiatives aimed at achieving SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation. A clear goal until 2025, to reduce our Water Footprint by 10%.
FINALIST
USE OF CARBONIC ANHYDRIDE AGAINST BIOFILM/DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER TREATMENT, submitted by EMASA/IDAS El Atabal
It is the world’s first large-scale use in a 165,000 m3/day plant of CO2 gas for cleaning biofilm in reverse osmosis membranes, replacing the use of biocide (in the case of El Atabal it was DBNPA). The use of a biocide has been replaced by carbon dioxide, which ends up mainly in the produced water, being consumed as a reagent in the remineralisation of the osmosed water. This is a totally sustainable action as the possible environmental impact of the biocide has been eliminated, replacing it with CO2 consumption, which is neutralised in the remineralisation of the osmosed water.
FINALIST
TAWEELAH, presented by ABENGOA AGUA
The Taweelah desalination plant is the world’s leading reference in terms of sustainability in the desalination sector. In terms of operational capacity, Taweelah is the largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in the world, thanks to its 909,218 m3/day of production capacity. It guarantees supply to the emirate of Abu Dhabi (it could supply water to up to 4.5 million people), in the United Arab Emirates, and is the first large-scale plant in the emirate to combine the production of drinking water with the generation of clean energy, thanks to the installation of a 70 MWp photovoltaic solar field. In this way, the Taweelah desalination plant sustainably reduces its own energy demand.
COMMUNICATION
AWARDED
RETEMA, presented by ADC Media
RETEMA magazine is the first technical, sectorial and specialised publication on the environmental industry, with an important focus on the field of sustainable water management. Today, with more than 36 years of experience and nearly 250 editions, it continues to be one of the reference publications for professionals in the water industry. RETEMA has published reports, interviews and articles by the main players in the sector for almost four decades, making an outstanding contribution to the development and positioning of the industry at a national and international level in Spanish-speaking countries.
FINALIST
I AM A LEADING PERSON, presented by Alejandro Sturniolo
For the past 25 years, Alejandro Sturniolo has been an exemplary advocate of positive communication in the field of desalination and water reuse. With a dedicated focus on marketing and market development, he has made substantial contributions to the industry and has played an important role in empowering positive communication for a sustainable future.
FINALIST
INTERNATIONAL WATER DAY, presented by ACCIONA WATER
ACCIONA, the world leader in desalination, has highlighted the value of desalination and reuse through a communication campaign that begins on such an important day: World Water Day, celebrated on March 22nd. Water scarcity already affects more than 40% of the world’s population, and the problem of the lack of water does not seem to be solved by means of water transfers or solidarity solutions. The problem is that this resource is becoming increasingly scarce. This is why ACCIONA wants to give visibility to the solution it is committed to every day: the desalination and reuse of wastewater to achieve a more sustainable future. For this reason, good management is important to ensure its availability for present and future well-being.
HUMANITARIAN INITIATIVE
AWARDED
LA PALMA PORTABLE DESALINATION PLANTS, presented by TEDAGUA
The proposal concerned the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma, which paralysed the water supply for irrigation of the 600 ha of crops in the area of Los Llanos de Aridane. TEDAGUA reacted quickly and efficiently to such an emergency, sending the two containerised plants that make up this project.
FINALIST
SACYR HUMANIRARTIA, presented by SACYR AGUA
One of Sacyr Water’s main objectives is humanitarian work and development. What makes Sacyr Agua’s candidacy unique is that, not only does it carry out humanitarian development in terms of water and its use, but we also work in all possible areas so that our employees, our partners, our clients and the entire population benefit from the measures we have carried out.
FINALIST
ATOTONILCO WWTP OPERATOR TRAINING COURSE, presented by ACCIONA AGUA
One of the company’s most important projects is the construction of the Atotonilco wastewater treatment plant in Mexico and the social projects involved in the construction of the plant. Among the many social and environmental projects that were carried out, we would highlight the creation of the Atotonilco Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Training Course.
INFORMATION
TIMELINE
Until 24 May: Submission of applications
Before June 5th: Evaluation
Before June 6th: Final selection
14th June: Awards Ceremony at the Gala Dinner of the XIII International Congress of AEDyR
JURY
The Jury is composed of well known, independent and without conflict of interest people from the sector:
Juan María Sánchez
Javier Romero
Eloy García Calvo
Silvio Olivia
Emilio Gabrielli
Daniel Prats
Walid Khoury
Miguel Ángel Sanz
CRITERIA
1
Excellence
A- Relevance to the sector
B- Size criterion (plant, number of plants applied, volume…)
C- Economic benefits
D- Sustainability criteria
E- Others to be defined by the jury
2
Innovation
A- Proximity/applicability to the market.
B- Economic/Social/Environmental Impact
C-Application potential (type of plants, transversality…)
D-Others to be defined by the jury
3
Sustainability
A- Impact on the MoU
B- Economic gain in TOTEX (CAPEX+OPEX)
C- Social impact and image
D- Globality of Impact
E- Others to be defined by the jury
4
Communication
A- Media impact (followers, circulation, likes on LinkedIn…)
B- Truthfulness/reliability of the information
C- Positive impact on the sector
D-Others to be defined by the jury
5
Humanitarian Initiative
A- Impact on number of people or populations or timeframe for implementation.
B- Speed of implementation/logistics/responsiveness
C- Economic Criteria (details for the jury)
D-Others to be defined by the jury
AWARD CEREMONY
The awards ceremony will take place at the gala dinner of the XIII AEDyR International Congress, which will be held in the city of Granada from 13 to 15 June.
If you are attending the XIII International Congress, the entrance to the awards ceremony and gala dinner is already included in your registration to the event. If you are only interested in attending the awards ceremony and gala dinner, you can do so by registering on the event’s website. The attendance fee for the latter option will be €150 and you will have the option, if you wish, to add a companion for €100.
XIII AEDyR INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
14th June 2023
Gala Dinner of the XIII AEDyR International Congress
Palacio de los Córdova (Granada)
Alejandro Zarzuela López
