Water. Desalination + reuse
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/107986
BUSINESS coRpoRate changes ModErN WatEr fINdS NEW ChINESE partNEr UK forward-osmosis desalination developer Modern Water plc has signed a framework agreement with Hangzhou Development Center of Water Treatment Technology Company Ltd (Hangzhou Water) in China. The new partnership will allow both organisations to jointly identify and develop projects in China, including seawater desalination plants and other water-related opportunities. Hangzhou Water is owned by National BlueStar (Group) Co Ltd, which is part of the state-owned China National Chemical Corporation. The company specialises in membrane systems which have different industrial uses such as seawater desalination, industrial pure water preparation and water reuse. Hangzhou Water has won or been involved in approximately 60% of China's current or planned desalination projects. It manages engineering, procurement and construction contracts as well as membrane manufacturing and fabrication facilities. Last year, Modern Water appointed a non-executive chairman to drive business development in the region (see People, page 15). This appointment was supported by the growth of Modern Water's Monitoring Technologies division in China which last year contributed sales of more than £500,000 to the group. "This partnership of like-minded and skilled organisations should lead to an abundance of opportunities and offer worldleading solutions to the water and wastewater industry, such as our cost and energy-saving desalination technology," Neil McDougall, executive chairman of Modern Water, commented. "It is an exciting development with sources estimating the industry in China will see new investment of up to RMB 20 billion (US$ 3.2 billion) over the next four years." Zheng Genjiang, board chairman of Hangzhou Water, added: "We believe that this partnership is the start of a long-standing relationship with Modern Water, which has a leading position in the field of FO technology, and Hangzhou Water with our innovative capability and industrial scale in China." l also Modern Water feature on page 30 See dESalItECh laUNChES US BaSE, hIrES NEW Staff Desalitech Ltd, developer of the Closed Circuit Desalination (CCD) sytem, announced on 18 December 2013 that it will be establishing its US headquarters in Massachusetts. It has also hired four new staff in the US. The company is expecting to set up an office in the spring for expanding its customer base and operations in US industrial water treatment markets, where most manufacturing plants require purified water for their operations. At present the four newcomers and executive vice-president Dr Richard Stover are working from their homes. Patrick Regan joins Desalitech as vice president of global sales and marketing. He was formerly a global account executive for General Electric, managing strategy for the brewing industry, and before that held several senior roles at GE. | 16 | Desalination & Water Reuse | February-March 2013 Bruce Alderman is Desalitech's new director of sales. He previously worked for Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies as a business development director, before that for Veolia/US Filter, and in between he earned an MS degree in applied physics from Princeton. Desalitech has also hired Mike Boyd in Phoenix from Layne Christensen and Daniel Hilson in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, from GE. Desalitech was recognized in a ceremony of the Massachusetts Water Innovation Mission to Israel on 18 December 2012 for importance to the energy/water nexus and as a leading example of an Israeli company seizing the diverse business opportunities uniquely available in Massachusetts. The mission has received significant support from Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the Massachusetts Office of International Trade & Development and dozens of major water companies and organizations. "We are thrilled Desalitech is joining our nation-leading water innovation sector in Massachusetts," said energy and environmental affairs secretary Rick Sullivan. "We strongly support the innovative technologies Desalitech produces and believe they will not only increase economic development in Massachusetts, but help us accomplish several goals in our core mission: keeping our waters clean and reducing power costs." "Ever-increasing water stress, increased discharge restrictions and increasing water and power costs are some of the industry's most difficult and important challenges. Desalitech's solutions improve environmental sustainability while reducing costs," said Nadav Efraty, Desalitech CEO. "We are proud to join Massachusetts's emerging water cluster." Desalitech was founded by Professor Avi Efraty and has grown under the business leadership of Nadav Efraty. Over 75 patents have been granted on the technology, and commercial CCD installations have run continuously since early 2009. daNES laUNCh BIoMIMEtIC SEparatIoN/ SENSINg platforM A DKK 45 million (US$ 8 million) development platform has been launched in Denmark to explore and demonstrate the potential of industrial-scale biomimetic separation and sensor applications. Aquaporin A/S and the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation announced on 17 December 2012 that the DKK 90 million (US$ 16 million) project would be titled Industrial Separation & Biosensing Processes Inspired By Nature. Aquaporin is joining forces with industrial market-leading companies DSS A/S, Arla Foods amba and Dupont, and world-class academic partners from the Danish universities in Copenhagen, Lyngby and Aalborg. The platform will accelerate Aquaporin's development projects for a large variety of applications such as wastewater volume reduction, peptide concentration, fertigator production and, in the longer term, biorefinery and drug screening. Arla Foods provides an industrial example of the use of Aquaporin Inside™ membranes. The platform will be looking