ABB has been selected by Royal HaskoningDHV as a preferred global automation supplier for its Nereda® Technology, a sustainable and cost-effective wastewater treatment solution that purifies water using aerobic granular sludge (AGS).

The two companies will collaborate on research and development to further optimize automation solutions for wastewater treatment, a traditionally energy-intensive process that has resulted in the sector consuming up to three percent of the world’s total energy output and contributing over 1.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The Aquasuite Nereda® controller, a smart software process controller through which plant operators can directly optimize plant performance, will be integrated into the ABB Ability™ 800xA Distributed Control System (DCS).

ABB’s automation platform will incorporate an electrical control system, a safety system and a collaboration enabler with the capacity to improve engineering efficiency, operator performance and asset utilization.

João Tiago de Almeida, Business Unit Director Water Technology Products at Royal HaskoningDHV commented:

“Royal HaskoningDHV continues to drive innovation in water treatment and will further extend our leadership in the market through our collaboration with ABB and the integration of our complementary technologies.”

With the United Nations predicting a 40 percent water deficit by 2040, converting wastewater through treatment for reuse is vital in helping bridge the gap between growing demand and scarcity of water.

“Optimizing wastewater treatment is key to addressing the challenge of water scarcity”, said Marco Achilea, Water Lead at ABB Energy Industries. “However, the cost and energy required to do so is often prohibitive, resulting in only approximately 50 percent of wastewater being treated globally.”

ABB’s Energy Transition Equation report found that harnessing digitalization and automation technologies to optimize wastewater treatment sites could reduce carbon emissions by up to 2,000 tons per annum. With over 50,000 wastewater plants worldwide, there is an opportunity to save 100 million tons of CO2 per year and reduce water companies’ annual operational costs by up to $1.2 million.

In 2022 ABB delivered its Ability™ Smart Solution for Wastewater, which is designed to optimize operations and reduce energy consumption in the water sector, delivering energy savings of up to 25 percent during aeration and pumping, as well as a 10 percent reduction in chemical usage. Now, through the collaboration with Royal HaskoningDHV, ABB can further optimize wastewater treatment for utilities.

As the original AGS technology, Nereda® significantly improves the century-old activated sludge process for treating wastewater.

The granules provide a host for more intense treatment of the wastewater at a much faster pace than conventional activated sludge. This enables the process to meet strict compliance mandates while consuming up to 50% less electricity, in 75% less footprint than conventional aerobic sludge treatment processes with little or no chemical addition.