Digital Threats in HVAC, HVACR Leaders magazine, Nov2019

HORIZON 2020 EUROPEAN
INNOVATION ACTION
At this edition of Global
Water Expo it will be again be
possible to obtain close-up
knowledge of the evolution
of the innovation projects in
the water sector co-financed
by the European Commission
through the Horizon 2020
action. As well as the
conclusive results of the
Smart Plant project which, in
large-scale pilot plants, has
validated for over two years,
the possibilities of the recovery
and reuse of cellulose,
biopolymers and nutrients from
wastewater and purification
sludge, Ecomondo 2019 will
enable attendees to know the
characteristics and steps of
the innovative Hydrousa
project, which has the
objective of responding to the
problems of water shortage,
typical of the Mediterranean
islands in the summer tourist
period, by means of
innovative nature-based
solutions: recovery of
wastewater, collection of
rainwater, low-cost
desalination of seawater, replenishing
ground-water
water and collecting air
humidity. Innovative solutions
that will be tested on three
Greek islands (Lesvos,
Mykonos and Tinos), while
other areas of the
Mediterranean (including
the Tuscan archipelago) will be
involved for the repeatability of
the concept. New solutions for
the reuse of purified
wastewater in the
Mediterranean basin are also
at the centre of the European
project Fit4rReuse.
All innovative projects that
combine research and
applicability, and which in the
context of Ecomondo will be
covered in depth on
Tuesday 5th November
during the meeting entitled
Water reuse in agriculture,
sustainable irrigation and
nature managed water cycle
in the new European
framework.
The European project
Digital Water City (DWC) aims
at finding digital solutions for
the optimization of urban water
services and will be presented
at Ecomondo on Thursday 7th
November in the context of
the conference on Water and
sanitation safety plans,
organized in collaboration with
the Superior Health Institute
and Utilitalia. Professor Fatone
explains, ”Digital technology
can be of great use for efficient
management of services
and water resources, but also
for properly planning
investments and contributing
to safeguarding the
population’s health by means
of smart systems and early
warning experts.” The Digital
Water City project involves five
European cities: Paris, Berlin,
Copenhagen, Sofia and, for
Italy, Milan.
On the other hand, the issue of
legislation on matters of
sustainable sludge
management and valorization
in wastewater treatment is the
topic of the meeting being
held on Thursday 7th
November entitled Barriers
and solutions for sustainable
sludge management and
valorization in wastewater
treatment.
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