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Desalination technology for the water challenge of the 21st century

Project description

Innovative and eco-friendly desalinisation technology

As the demand for access to fresh water will rise in the coming decades, desalinisation (desalination) technologies will assume a significant role in water treatment. However, existing desalinisation technologies are old and have severe drawbacks that render them inappropriate for the world’s water demand. The EU-funded SonixED project proposes the first patented equipment combining traditional reversal electrodialysis technology and ultrasound that can replace conventional desalinisation, delivering 60 % higher efficiency and reducing environmental impact, chemical use, energy consumption, maintenance, and plastic waste. The project will offer two types of containers for seawater and brackish water applications containing remote monitoring. After a positive pilot phase, SonixED will organise three field trials and adapt the product for industrialisation.

Objective

Hydrovolta has created SonixED the first equipment combining traditional Reversal Electrodialysis (EDR) technology and ultrasound, which has the capacity to replace conventional desalination with a 60% higher efficiency, while reducing the environmental impact in CO2, Chemical use, and plastic waste. There is a growing need for access to freshwater, as water demand is predicted to increase significantly over the coming decades, accelerated by Earth’s global warming. Because only 2.5% of the water resources on our planet consist of freshwater, desalination technologies will become a vital part of the water treatment landscape. There is a market need to increase the total existing desalination capacity in the world, by a third in the next 10 years. Current desalination technologies exist for centuries and have strong drawbacks which do not make them viable for meeting the worlds water demand of the future. SonixED has a drastically higher efficiency thanks to the integration of ultrasound technologies, preventing fouling and optimizing the efficiency of the membrane.
SonixED is a €20bn market opportunity. We want to provide two types of containers for Seawater and Brackish water applications. We will assemble simple modules into skids that will be the central part of the equipment sold and can be scaled easily, the system will also include remote monitoring. After a positive pilot phase, we will organize 3 field trials during this EIC pilot, supported by prospects in the two use cases. In parallel, we will prepare our industrialization by adapting the design of our modules, skids, and containers to be produced and assembled through industrial processes. We will also prepare our manufacturing and logistic capabilities and develop marketing and commercial strength. The SonixED will be commercialized as soon as possible over a global network of distributors, utilizing the existing network of the founding members.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

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Coordinator

HYDRO VOLTA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 2 294 075,00
Address
ROMEINSE STRAAT 18
3001 Leuven
Belgium

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Vlaams Gewest Prov. Vlaams-Brabant Arr. Leuven
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 3 277 250,00
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