At INNO4H2O we are firmly committed to promoting the construction of a new Digital Water Ecosystem, by searching, identifying and developing technological solutions and intelligent tools that allow the increase of water resources. In this mission and under the leitmotiv “The new value of water”, last July 2nd we enjoyed our second Open Day in Valencia, organized on this occasion by Emivasa.
The program of the meeting, which was divided into two thematic blocks, began the day by addressing the strategic challenges facing the water cycle. the strategic challenges faced by the water cycle. After the welcome address by Elías Colom (Director of Corporate Marketing at Global Omnium), Pura Almenar (Head of Drinking Water Treatment and Network Quality at Global Omnium) opened the round of presentations with an in-depth look at drinking water management during a DANA. Water resilience to extreme events requires strengthening infrastructures, organizational frameworks, human capacities, technological innovation and regulations, being integrated as a priority criterion in strategic decision making.
The session continued with a presentation by Alicia Andreu (Head of the water resources management research line at ITC and coordinator of INNO4H2O), who presented interesting challenges related to the use of non-conventional water sources in the industrial field, an intervention that served to highlight the relevance of our Ecosystem in this context, as a facilitator of a collaborative network that facilitates the technology transfer of effective and sustainable solutions.
Juan Luis Sobreira (Managing Director Open Innovation Division at ITG) moderated the round table that closed the first cycle, with the participation of Andross Pérez (Head of Valencia Networks at Global Omnium), Sergio Alonso (Head of Exploitation Department at FACSA) and Hugo Jiménez (Data Scientist & Head of Innovation at TINAMICA). The regulatory framework, sustainability The conversation focused on the economic aspects of the water cycle and the need for investment in areas such as water recovery and high value-added products, digitalization, and the resilience of supply and sanitation systems in the face of extreme weather events. A talk in which the role of AI also surfaced, capital not only in the optimization of processes but also in the protection of resources and the generation of public and territorial value.
The second of the blocks was oriented precisely towards new integrated digital solutions. integrated digital solutions. David Bruguera (IT Infrastructure & Cybersecurity Manager at Adasa) focused on the current state of infrastructures from the point of view of digital security, applicable regulations and resilience, pointing out the keys to face the proliferation of attacks on treatment plants and supply networks: integrate cybersecurity, comply with regulations, make visible and monitor, and train/awareness teams.
David de Miguel (Energy Efficiency and Sustainability R&D Technician at ITCL Technology Center) continued the round of presentations, delving into the vision of using Water Treatment as a strategic source of value creation and resources, a space for important strategic challenges and enormous challenges around digital transformation, in which through Digital Twins we can orchestrate autonomous decisions in any system.
Juan Luis Sobreira took the floor again in a presentation that delved into the challenges in traceability and modeling of high value-added products, necessarily subjected to replicable and scalable processes, in this step from the well-known wastewater treatment plants to the so-called Biofactories.
To conclude, Alicia Andreu also reappeared, moderating the round table “Open dialogue with the innovative fabric”, with the intention of opening a space for the university-business binomial and highlighting innovation as a transforming and strategic axis of sustainable water management. A debate that included the participation of Jose Ignacio Ruiz (CEO of Linkener), Héctor Josep Donat (CEO of FIVECOMM), Javier Rodrigo (Director of the chair Aguas de Valéncia at the UPV and Director of the Department of Hydraulic Engineering and Environment of the UPV-Polytechnic University of Valencia), and Paloma Barreda (Engineer in industrial technologies, researcher at the University Jaume I, innovation agent).
