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Knowledge category: Projects

Demonstration of planning and technology tools for a circular, integrated and symbiotic use of water

Updated on 12.04.2023

Project Ô aims to develop practical tools for a circular water economy by applying the pillars of integrated water management (IWM) as a model for ‘water planning’. Its low cost, modular technologies can be easily retrofitted into any water management infrastructure and will provide stakeholders with a toolkit to plan water use and reuse and use less energy to treat water.

Acronym: Project Ô
Countries: Austria, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom
Project website: https://www.eu-project-o.eu/
Start and end date: 01.06.2018 - 30.11.2022
Budget: 10 370 751 EUR
Funding source: Horizon 2020

More information

Project Ô’s objective is to apply the pillars of IWM as a model for ‘water planning’ (akin to spatial planning) that can be retrofitted into water management systems at district/plant level, which will enable small communities and SMEs to implement best water management practices. The technologies used make possible planning instruments for water management. These planning instruments can be used in turn to prescribe (or as an example for) water planning technologies, and therefore technologies and planning instruments inform and complement each other. The water management technologies also support the regulators in the implementation of policy instruments, as foreseen by IWM, and help to convince stakeholders (such as those in the development and industry sectors) to implement water efficient strategies.

The project will operate in the following countries: Austria; Croatia; Denmark; France; Germany; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Portugal; Spain; and the United Kingdom.

Further support could include instruments for rewarding virtuous behaviours (such as advantageous water tariffs), planning regulations that award planning consent more swiftly, or even providing the use of water from alternative sources (including recycling). Project Ô’s toolkit for the planning and use of resource water, whatever the water’s provenance, is provided to stakeholders (this includes everyone using, or regulating the use of, water in an area) to provide significant energy savings by avoiding the treatment of water, wastewater, and therefore release pressure on green water sources. This overall objective will be demonstrated in up to four sites, in different European countries and in Israel, involving industries, aquaculture, and agriculture, as well as local authorities of different sizes. These cities are Almendralejo (Spain), and the coastal cities/regions of Eilat (Israel), Omiš (Croatia) and the Puglia region (Italy).

Relevance for Circular Systemic Solutions

Project Ô intends to demonstrate approaches and technologies to drive an integrated and symbiotic use of water within a specific area, putting together the needs of different users and wastewater producers. The project involves regulators, service providers, civil society, industry and agriculture. 
The project has developed a Circular Economy Platform (CEP) to support medium-term and distributed water resource planning at a business level. Project Ô has also developed a Decision Analytic Platform (DAP) to support long-term and centralised water resource planning, for example as a local water management company. Together, CEP and DAP work as complementary technologies that address the decision-making process at two levels – business and centralised water regulation.
CEP allows the key stakeholders involved in water treatment activities to interact by sharing requests, offers, treatment technologies and logistics. It provides: a digital marketplace for the supply and demand of water and by-product resources; the sorting of water streams as inputs or outputs, with specific chemical compositions; a platform for users to reuse water as part of a circular water economy; space for communities to support local water management.
DAP will help decision-makers compare the impact of making individual decisions on the water supply chain. This will include assessing how to provide the most reliable water supply for users by considering current and potential future conditions. Water regulators will then be able to make strong evidence-based decisions to create a more reliable water supply. It aims at analysing difficult-to-measure factors and objectives (including technology costs and local conditions), considering real world factors like regulations and financial mechanisms, showing the impacts of decision on the current and future water supply. Overall, DAP will allow for strategic water management, focused on alternative water sources and the local reuse of water.
Beyond that, the project develops water treatment technologies that are applied to water-based activities in several different industries, such as agriculture and fisheries (nitrate removal for land-based mariculture) and textiles (removing dyes from used water).

Horizon programme(s) and/or topic(s)

Programme(s):

  • H2020-EU.3.5.: SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials (Main programme)
  • H2020-EU.3.5.2.3.: Provide knowledge and tools for effective decision making and public engagement
  • H2020-EU.3.5.4.: Enabling the transition towards a green economy and society through eco-innovation
  • H2020-EU.3.5.2.2.: Developing integrated approaches to address water-related challenges and the transition to sustainable management and use of water resources and services


Topic(s):

  • CIRC-02-2016-2017: Water in the context of the circular economy

Budget

€ 10 370 751.51 (EU contribution: € 9 261 272.38)

Responsible organisation and contact details

IRIS SRL
Contact the project: https://www.eu-project-o.eu/

Project consortium partners

  • Aalborg Universitet
  • Universita Degli Studi Di Torino
  • Universitat Politecnica De Valencia
  • Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique CNRS
  • Heim.Art - Kulturverein-Flussig
  • Socamex SA
  • Technion - Israel Institute Of Technology
  • EKSO SRL, Universidade De Aveiro
  • Politecnico Di Milano
  • Municipality Of Eilat
  • Acquedotto Pugliese SPA
  • Regione Puglia
  • Hochschule Rhein-Waal-Hsrw Rhine-Waal University Of Applied Sciences
  • Particula Group Drustvo S Ogranicenom Odgovornoscu Za Istrazivanje Razvoj I Proizvodnju
  • Israel Oceanographic And Limnological Research Limited
  • Uni - Ente Italiano Di Normazione
  • Galeb Dalmatinska Trikotaza Dionicko Drustvo
  • Institute For Methods Innovation
  • Kalundborg Symbiose
Sectors

CEAP2 key product value chain

CEAP2 key product value chain

Territories involved

large 500 000-200 000, medium 200 000-50 000, and small cities 50 000-5 000

predominantly urban regions, intermediate and predominantly rural regions, refer to TERCET typology NUTS 3 region

Intra-territorial areas