LIFE HyReward

HyReward is a LIFE Pilot Project with the main objective to assess, validate and disseminate a new sustainable desalination process combining Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Reverse Electrodialysis (RED).

Blue Energy powering our sustainable future

The integration of the RED process with the conventional RO desalination process will allow to improve the energy efficiency of the desalination process, thanks to the recovery of the energy contained in the seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) brine before its discharge into the sea through the generation of electrical energy, thus reducing the overall energy consumption of the desalination process and, therefore, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Although the new hybrid desalination process is formed by developed processes, their integration into a desalination system has not been demonstrated until today. Its main challenge is hence to increase the resilience of desalination to climate change, making it a key productive, economic, social and environmentally friendly sector in water-stressed Mediterranean regions and extrapolate the project results to other places and contexts under similar circumstances.

Project

The new hybrid process will be eco-friendly, generating 100% clean energy without negative consequences to the environment, contributing to the EU effort for the reduction of GHG emissions and climate change mitigation. LIFE HyReward has been conceived as an effective solution to shape a sustainable future for desalination and ultimately seeks to encourage stakeholders to use it.

Main Objectives

To demonstrate the technical feasibility of the combination of RO and RED technologies, maximizing the electrical energy recovery contained in the RO brine.

To improve the carbon footprint of desalination.

Production of electrical energy through the RED process, reducing the final brine discharge concentration and producing electrical energy for the facility's own consumption.

To analyze the transfer of the project results to other sectors and countries.

The technology

Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is a technology to generate electric energy from the salinity gradient between two solutions of different salinity. This energy is known as blue energy, and it is completely renewable and sustainable, CO2-free.

The technology concept that will be demonstrated within LIFE HYREWARD Project, utilizes the RED technology to harvest the energy available in the salinity gradient between the reject of a SWRO and the treated effluent of a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP).

The hybrid RO-RED process suggested in the LIFE HYREWARD process, will allow to recover up to 20% of the energy consumed in the desalination process, generating clean and renewable energy from the SWRO brine, reducing CO2 emissions from the desalination process and thereby contribute to the mitigation of the effects of climate change.

Partners

Sacyr Agua, S.L. is a private company incorporated within the Sacyr group dedicated to the management of the complete water cycle through public concession or private initiative and engineering, development, management, maintenance, and operation of all types of water plants. With more than 60 designed and built plants, Sacyr Agua is one of the main companies of water technology in Spain.

Pure Water Group is a leading manufacturer of advanced and sustainable water purification equipment and highly specialized in environmental friendly technologies such as; Electro Deionization (EDI), Membrane Degassing (MD) and Electro Dialysis Reversal (EDR). The water treatment plants are utilized for the production of High Purity and Ultra-Pure Water, applications related to water desalination and water recovery.

REDstack, founded in 2005, is a Dutch spin‐off company of WETSUS (www.wetsus.nl), European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, in The Netherlands. The sole shareholder of REDstack is W&F Technologies, which is also the owner of Pure Water Group. The last years REDstack has grown significantly and currently the dedicated team/workforce consist of 14 people, 5 of them holding advanced degrees. The mission of this company is to develop and commercialize (reverse) electro‐dialysis (RED and ED) and related technologies.

LIFE Programme

The LIFE program is the EU’s financing instrument for the environment and climate action. 

The general objective of LIFE is to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental and climate policy and legislation through the co-financing of projects with European added value.

LIFE began in 1992 and has to date co-financed more than 4,600 projectsacross the EU, with a total contribution of approximately 6.5 billion Euros to the protection of the environment and of climate. For the next phase of the programme (2021-2027) the European Commission proposed to raise the budget to 5.45 billion Euro.

The European Commission manages the LIFE programme through its services Directorate-General for Environment and Directorate-General for Climate Action, the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) and the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA).

More information about the LIFE programme: here

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