Water is a vital resource for human beings, not only for consumption, but also for all kinds of industrial processes and production of goods. Human activity alters its natural state and pollutes it, causing serious environmental damage to rivers and seas. It is therefore essential to ensure correct water treatment for its reuse and return to the environment. At the WWTP, purification processes are carried out that allow treated water to be returned to the environment with optimum quality conditions.

WWTPs can help in the decarbonisation processes by transforming the energy contained in the organic matter eliminated in the purification process into green H2. Green H2 from renewable sources, due to its high energy density and clean combustion, would replace fossil fuels and contribute to increasing the circularity of these facilities.

ACCIONA has designed and built more than 330 wastewater treatment plants globally. The total capacity of the 330 WWTPs is 27 million m3/day, which represents a population equivalent of more than 100 million inhabitants. The production of H2 in WWTPs is considered a clean energy source, as H2, when burned or used in a fuel cell, only emits water as a by-product, thus contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The possible production of H2 in WWTPs is in line with European and national policies that seek to promote renewable energy and reduce dependence on unsustainable energy sources. The European Union, for example, in its Green Deal, has set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the production of H2 in WWTPs is part of these policies. In addition, the injection of H2 into the electricity grid, self-consumption at the WWTP itself, and the use of H2 to power vehicle fleets, can represent a source of significant revenue and savings.

ACCIONA is launching this challenge to identify solutions and/or technologies that allow the production of H2 to be included in the conventional operation of a WWTP without the need for pre-treatment, for example, a biological reactor that produces H2 in addition to purifying the water. The solution must meet the following requirements:

• H2 production from one of the aqueous (non-gaseous) streams or sludge from the sewage treatment plant, without involving prior purification similar to that required to operate conventional electrolysers.
• The solution should present a positive energy balance of the treatment and help decarbonisation of the sector.
• The technology must be at TRL 5 or higher.

Irrigator communities are organizations of farmers who come together to collectively manage the use of water for irrigation in a specific area. These communities play a crucial role in agriculture, especially in regions where water is scarce, or its distribution is irregular.

The challenge these communities face is ensuring a fair and efficient distribution of water among the community members, mainly by mediating conflicts between members, managing resources in times of water scarcity, identifying fraud and illegal water uses, and maintaining infrastructure.

To address this challenge, irrigator communities are increasingly interested in scalable and economically accessible water monitoring solutions, with the aim of implementing them over large areas of land.

Monitoring in irrigator communities represents a significant opportunity to improve the management and sustainable use of water in agriculture. With the implementation of monitoring technologies, communities can obtain accurate and real-time data on soil conditions, climate, and water consumption.

This information allows more informed and precise decision-making, facilitating the achievement of the objectives of an irrigator community, such as:

• More efficient water management: with real-time and detailed information, water can be managed more efficiently and promptly, both in periods of abundance and in times of scarcity.
• Mediation in water use conflicts: ability to use empirical data to manage internal disputes between members and external disputes with other water users.
• Prevention and detection of fraud and illegal water use: promptly prevent and detect illegal water use, tampering with meters, and other forms of fraud that can undermine the equity and sustainability of the system.
• Prevention in infrastructure maintenance: promptly prevent or detect leaks, breaks, and efficiency reductions to ensure proper maintenance and modernization of irrigation infrastructure.

We are looking for solutions that include the adoption of technologies that are scalable and adaptable to different sizes and types of irrigator communities, easy to integrate with other existing systems, and simple to use and maintain, even for users without advanced technical expertise.

Moreover, it is crucial that the solution demonstrates a commitment to sustainability and positive environmental impact, as irrigator communities seek not only to improve water use efficiency but also to reduce the environmental footprint of their agricultural practices.

Lastly, the solution must combine effective training and technical support with the presentation of case studies and pilot test results, thus demonstrating the efficacy of its technology to strengthen the confidence and satisfaction of irrigator communities.

Water scarcity affects 40% of the global population, and it is estimated that by 2030, 65% of the population will suffer the consequences of this scarcity. Considering the decreasing availability of natural freshwater, the ability to manage and more effectively trace its availability and consumption by different users is key.

The water footprint, similar to the carbon footprint, is an environmental indicator that measures the volume of freshwater (liters or cubic meters) used throughout the entire production chain of a consumer good or service. It can be used to measure the water consumption of almost anything, from the manufacturing of a pair of pants to the total consumption of a country, including a harvest or the annual activities of a company. Within the amount of water used in this indicator, three types of freshwater are distinguished: blue water (surface and groundwater resources, such as rivers and wells), green water (water evaporated in productive and agricultural processes), and grey water (water contaminated after industrial or agricultural processes).

However, reliable measurement and certification of these water consumption data are challenging due to the varied methodologies and complexities inherent in each sector and community.

This challenge seeks proposals for the measurement and certification of freshwater sources that guarantee the accuracy, transparency, and reliability of the data, thus obtaining a reliable estimate of the water footprint. The measurement of the water footprint, in accordance with international standards, is essential to better understand the impact of our actions on water resources and promote more sustainable practices. A robust measurement and certification system will allow for more effective water management, helping organizations and individuals to make more informed and responsible decisions.

Companies could use these data to improve their processes, reduce their water footprint, and position themselves as leaders in sustainability. For consumers, these data would provide essential transparency, allowing them to make more environmentally respectful purchasing decisions. In addition, a standardized approach could facilitate collaboration and the exchange of best practices among different sectors and regions, thus promoting a more holistic and unified approach to water management.

Solutions that deploy measurement, certification, and/or distributed ledger technologies for the measurement and certification of the water footprint. These solutions must be capable of adapting to different methodologies and sectors, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the data. We are looking for proposals that not only align with existing international regulations but also drive innovation in the measurement and management of the water footprint globally.

ACCIONA has the challenge to find new business models from data generated and, if it is able to implement solutions that collect, store, and analyse the relevant information, will grant the business of ACCIONA Agua with a corporate intelligent service and data analysis that is fast, agile, and far more efficient.

The water treatment plants have many processes from which vast amounts of data are generated and which have to be tended to in order to not only get results from solutions, but anticipate and prevent possible incidents in the treatment processes.

Business model transition in projects to offer services. Content development for ACCIONA’s cloud where the future numerical updates, cognitive intelligence, algorithms and control systems in the cloud.

The plants themselves offer a lot of information that grants knowledge of the medium and the processes. Accessing that data volume and be able to analyse it provides new tools and business lines within the data exploitation itself, and opens real possibilities to the improvement and optimization of designs.

Water treatment is essential for survival, and treatment of seawater for domestic use is a solution to cover demand for drinking water.

A lack of water affects 40% of the world’s population, and it is estimated that around 65% of the population will suffer the consequences of water shortages by 2030. Bearing in mind the decreasing availability of natural fresh water, desalinating seawater for human consumption is something that can offset the problem.

Among the desalination techniques used, the most common is reverse osmosis, used in 60% of plants. This technique eliminates salt from water by using a semi-permeable membrane that allows molecules to pass through it. Seawater contains a high level of microorganisms that adhere to this filter; they find somewhere to shelter and grow, blocking the passage of the water.

The appearance of these organisms means that it is necessary to shut down the plant to clean the membranes, whose state is unknown until they are cleaned.

Shutting down a plant to wash the membrane frames is costly and leads to downtime. The biggest disadvantage is not knowing the extent of biofouling, which makes it difficult to predict shutdowns in a desalination plant. This can also lead to penalties on late deliveries by clients.

The problem lies in the availability of know-how on the evolution of microorganisms blocking the membranes, in order to optimise their use and cleaning.

We seek start-ups that can adapt their solutions to the detection of microorganism loads in seawater. ACCIONA is interested in a physical sensor that can measure levels directly and functions in a preventive manner, allowing us to know the extent of biofouling with a view to extending the working life of the membranes.

The most usual process to obtain copper from oxide ores and some sulphides is through leaching stacks. In this process, heap leaching stacks (large dumps of already-crushed low-copper-grade materials) are irrigated with water and sulphuric acid to obtain a greater copper concentration in the drainage systems. However, copper concentrations are not homogenous in the heap leaching stacks and, consequently, a balanced irrigation process is not completely efficient. Currently, acid is spread homogeneously in all areas, leaving some over-irrigated and others under-irrigated.

ACCIONA is looking for startups that help us with the optimization of the leaching process. How could the leaching process be digitalized to become more efficient? How could the use of water and acid be optimized, considering the copper concentrations in the heap leaching stacks in real time? How could the copper concentrations in the heap leaching stacks be measured in real time? How could the required water and acid supply be improved?

In reverse osmosis desalination plants, the materials suffer a lot of wear and tear, as they have to withstand pressure of 70 BAR when operating, and because of the elements they come into contact with during the process (sea water, brine and chemical products).

There are lots different components made out of different materials (special steels, plastics and fibres) that could deteriorate and give out, from pressure pipes and seals to flexible connectors, valves, etc.  There might be different kinds of breakages, from cracks to large scale breakages in different parts of the structure, which may on occasion compromise the safety of the people and the structure itself.

At ACCIONA, we’re looking for startups that allow us to improve the safety and efficiency of our desalination plants. How could we monitor the deterioration of the materials that are used for the different components? How can we predict if certain components of the structure will fail? How could we identify the areas where an incident may be about to occur before it actually does? How can we improve people’s safety?