Bridge4Water – Bridging the Gaps Towards Water Circularity

Water & Energy Stage - Hal J1English

Water is an essential resource for the food industry – as an ingredient, for cleaning, cooling and a wide range of processing purposes. At the same time, increasing pressure on water resources and a growing focus on resource efficiency mean that the industry must increasingly consider reduction, reuse and circular wa-ter flows. Many of the technologies needed are already available. But technology alone does not create water circulari-ty. As water is reused closer to production – and potentially for purposes with increasingly stringent quality requirements – new questions arise: How do we document water quality? What should we monitor, and how? Which standards and analytical methods are needed? And how do we address risk, quality assurance, regulation and acceptance?

This is where Bridge4Water comes in. The initiative, funded by the Grundfos Foundation, brings industry and academia together around shared, pre-competitive challenges within water circularity – ranging from new technological solutions to methods, standards and knowledge needed to enable implementation of wa-ter efficiency and circularity solutions.

The presentation will share the first experiences from Bridge4Water and explore how the food industry can help define the next water challenges that research and innovation need to address.