Aqualia: Water calls on industry and innovation to develop resilient infrastructure
According to the latest Report of the UN Global Compact in Spain, the percentage of companies that carry out actions that contribute to the SDGs has increased from 86% in 2020 up to 90% in 2024.
The integration of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into company strategies has increased in recent years. According to the latest UN Global Compact Annual Report in Spain, 69% of Spanish companies claimed to know the SDGs in 2018, while currently that figure has risen up to 88%. Companies are demonstrating their commitment to business sustainability by establishing measurable agreements. The percentage of companies that carry out actions that contribute to the SDGs has increased from 86% in 2020 up to 90% in 2024.
On the ninth anniversary of the declaration of the 17 SDGs, which is celebrated this September 25th, the United Nations focuses on SDG 9, which aims to build resilient infrastructures, promote sustainable industrialisation and encourage innovation. Aqualia adheres to the commitment for another year and highlights its projects and concrete actions that are contributing to achieve SDG 9.
Through the company's Innovation department, and the subsidiary Aqualia Industrial, Aqualia works based on the development of technologies and innovation to achieve a resilient and modernised infrastructure, adaptable to changes and which serves as the basis for a competitive and sustainable industry. This year, taking up the line of the campaigns of previous years, Aqualia details the real actions, explained by 9 Aqualia professionals, with which it is contributing to the achievement of this Goal.
Sustainable innovation to support the achievement of SDG9
For more than 50 years, Aqualia has been committed to industry, innovation and infrastructure as a cornerstone for sustainable development. Like urban water, industrial water requires treatment prior to being used, as well as the treatment of its effluents. “Aqualia puts its responsiveness and adaptability at the service of companies so that they can treat their water efficiently and ensure maximum productivity,” says Juan Carlos Rey, director of Aqualia Industrial, which accompanies food, chemical, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, mining or aeronautics companies on their path towards sustainability.
This spirit is materialised in concrete results in the 9 areas in which Aqualia works:
1. Development of clean and environmentally responsible technologies. The heterogeneity of industrial water requires solutions adapted to each case, always under sustainability criteria. Some sectors, such as energy, demand a large volume of water. In the case of the Villena Thermosolar Power Plant, Aqualia Industrial implemented a battery of state-of-the-art technologies using water from different sources, including raw wastewater, that made it possible to meet the requirements for the operation of the plant.
2. Promotion of technological innovation. Aqualia has assumed the commitment to the development and application of cutting-edge technologies in water treatment, carrying out a R&D&i strategy that positions it as a leading company in the sector. Some examples already known in the industrial market are third generation floats (DAFAST) and continuous washing sand filters (PURASAND), among others. Beyond the industrial market, Aqualia maintains ten families of patents and brands that are growing since 2014, and as of year-end 2023 it had seven patents in the processing phase.
3. Development of resilient hydraulic infrastructure. Aqualia designs proposals adapted to each project and installations that are flexible to changes in the sector. A model case of this is the construction and management of AITASA treatment plant in Tarragona, the largest petrochemical complex in southern Europe. The plant has a treatment capacity of 35,600 m3/day and jointly manages effluents from twenty different industries.
4. Infrastructure modernisation and investment in R&D. The company promotes the modernisation of infrastructure and investment in R&D, and therefore it is preparing the launch of the NICE project at its corporate headquarters in Madrid. Thanks to this system, grey water from the building's sinks will be treated and reused. This project will reduce the water footprint and make this office one of the most sustainable in Madrid.
5. Adaptation to regulatory requirements and environmental protection. The expansion of regulatory requirements leads industries to need specialised companies to help them carry out these improvements. Aqualia Industrial has reference projects in sectors such as mining, for which it has applied technologies that allow the treatment of acidic water.
6. Circular economy and generation of value-added products. This area includes the development of technologies that make it possible to use waste from purification to generate products with high-added value, such as biogas. The treatment plant of the Jealsa group, a canning company based in A Coruña, is a model case.
The rest of the areas and success stories can be consulted on the website.
www.aqualia.com
