Technical developments at FCC Aqualia play leading role at IWA Congress 2014
The company makes its presence felt at one of the leading international events in the sector, with the organisation of a workshop, two oral presentations, fourteen scientific posters and participation on a panel and at a plenary session
FCC Aqualia will be one of the leading firms involved in this year’s edition of the international congress of the International Water Association (IWA) in Lisbon, between 21 and 26 September. The company will be playing an active role in the full technical programme, as well as having a 42-square-metre stand in the main exhibition area.
For FCC Aqualia this event is of considerable importance, not only because it is one of the key international meetings for the sector, but also because this year the event is being held in Portugal, where the firm provides services for five local authorities, as part of its commitment to developing local management. For Jesús Rodríguez, FCC Aqualia’s delegate in Portugal, “The fact that this event is being held in Lisbon is great news for us. We are highly committed to the work we do at our services in Portugal, providing assistance and technological support for public management of the service.”
At IWA, the professionals from FCC Aqualia will be particularly active in the technical programme. Frank Rogella, the company’s innovation and technology director, and Elena Maneiro, project manager, are coordinating the organisation of the workshop “Resource Recovery: Resources of the Future”; José Ramón Vázquez, R&D project manager, will present the research done at the treatment plant in Vigo with an anaerobic membrane reactor that doubles the capacity. The researcher Nicolás Morales will present the latest progress made in the ELAN® Project, which substantially reduces the energy needed for the treatment process.
Also, FCC Aqualia, in partnership with the universities of Santiago de Compostela, Cadiz, Alcalá de Henares, Valencia polytechnic, Complutense (Madrid) and Valladolid, and together with IMDEA Water and Likuid Nannotek, will present 14 scientific posters on the progress made in the various R&D projects that are under way with those institutions. Finally, the company will be present at the plenary session “Social Dimensions of Water Management Innovations at Scale”, and will be participating in the panel “Investing in CleanTech: Opportunities and Impacts”.
The meeting will provide an excellent opportunity to publicise the projects now being developed by FCC Aqualia, its management style and its working philosophy among more than 5,000 professionals expected to attend this international event.
FCC Aqualia is the water-management company of FCC, one of Europe’s leading public-services groups. FCC Aqualia works in over 1,100 municipal districts, operating more than 200 drinking-water plants and over 300 wastewater plants in 19 countries: Spain, Italy, Portugal, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Algeria, Egypt, UAE, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, China and Uruguay.
FCC Aqualia is currently involved in 20 research projects, many of them co-financed by the Spanish government or the European Union (7ºPM, LIFE+, Eco-Innovación, etc.). One of the main areas in which the company is now working is smarter, more sustainable management of the integrated water cycle.