New at Aquatech Amsterdam 2019
Europe’s leading water and wastewater focused exhibition, Aquatech Amsterdam, is celebrating its 55th anniversary this year.
Part of the wider Amsterdam International Water Week (AIWW), the event is set to be bigger and better than before.
There are many new initiatives and topics discussed at this year’s Aquatech Amsterdam. To give you a taste, here are seven highlights:
1. Innovation Forum
Under the tagline ‘Mastering Water’s Digital Transformation’, the new one-day event - Aquatech Innovation Forum – will bring together some of the world’s most progressive water utilities when it comes to digital innovation. Over 40 speakers from 16 countries will come together to help unbox water’s digitalisation journey, including ‘unconferenced’ content where the speakers and audience swap places in an unplanned agenda.
2. Aquatech Innovation Dinner
New to the 2019 edition is the Aquatech Innovation Dinner to facilitate networking, enhance the creation of an Aquatech community and welcome the water industry to the Netherlands. Expect good food, drinks, music and inspirational after-dinner speakers. It’s a chance to kickstart the wider Amsterdam International Water Week and welcome everyone to the wonderful city of Amsterdam.
3. Future Water Square
This new area in Hall 13 has been designed to give both visitors and exhibitors a glimpse into the future. The dedicated area includes displays on new technology, for example at the BlueTech Research Innovation Pavilion, which features 10 innovative companies. Dutch partnership company, AquaMinerals, which has produced a face scrub from a water treatment by-product, will also host a display on ‘Recovered Resources’. At the heart of this area is the EU Innovation Projects pavilion that shows poster presentations and speakers from over 16 projects. Kickstarting all of these activities before the Amsterdam International Water Week even begins is the Wetskills competition, part of a larger programme running throughout the week by and for the Future Water Leaders (young water professionals) in the water sector.
4. Sustainable brine management
On 5 November consultancy Isle Utilities, together with Wageningen University & Research will present a session titled ‘Water Nexus and Sustainable Brine Management’. Following this, the Sharjah Electricity & Sewage Authority (SEWA) will highlight the importance of conserving resources, including water and energy. Concluding a content-rich day will be the Brains for Brine Challenge and award ceremony, hosted by the KAUST Water Desalination and Reuse Center and the Red Sea Development Company.
5. Sarphati Sanitation Symposium
Dr Samuel Sarphati was a 19th-century doctor, chemist and city planner who radically improved sanitation through entrepreneurship in Amsterdam. In his spirit, the Sarphati Sanitation Awards were created to honour innovation and commitment to global sanitation challenges. This year, World Waternet, Aqua for All and FMO are honoured to present the first-ever Sarphati Sanitation Symposium. This one-day free symposium will bring together actors in water and sanitation to discover and explore innovative sanitation methods, funding instruments and ways to increase the awareness and political support for sanitation.
6. Microplastics removal best practise
Since 2018, the Dutch Water Partners have been researching innovative technologies for the removal of micropollutants. This research is carried out within an extensive programme, which is initiated and managed by STOWA and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water. The first results from this programme will be presented at Aquatech Amsterdam. This programme focusses on feasibility of technologies, which are on the verge of break-through. Key information on 20 selected technologies has been collected and judged by more than 100 Dutch water professionals. The event consists of several one-hour thematic sessions in which results of feasibility studies will be presented and compared, including audience discussions.
7. Powering up the Aquatech Industrial User Experience (IUE)
Due to popular demand, the seminar sessions for the IUE are being repeated but new to the 2019 event is a special session on Thursday afternoon for the Energy & Power industries. Featuring ENEL and other major companies, it will address how they are making power generation more environmentally friendly, including the reduction of water and chemical footprints.
Marieke Leenhouts, exhibition manager for Aquatech Amsterdam, said: “Even though our flagship event is 55 years old, we are continuing to innovate and bring new content, insights and thought leadership to Amsterdam. Innovation is very important for the sector, and as organisers we also want to innovate and bring inspiration and networking in traditional, as well new ways to the Aquatech community around the world.”
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