The concept is based on the generation of electricity from salinity gradient using Reverse Electrodialysis with artificial saline solutions operating in a closed-loop. The original salinity gradient is regenerated by a separation step that uses heat at 40 - 100 C. The regenerated solutions can be stored at very low costs and the stack can react within seconds, providing flexibility to the power system. It is a quiet technology operating under normal pressures and temperatures imposing no risks. The industrial partners ensures the MRL will be kept aligned with the advances in TRL. The overall objective is to prove this revolutionary concept, develop the necessary materials, components and know-how for bringing it to the level of a lab prototype generating electricity from low-grade heat at higher efficiencies and lower costs than ever achieved to date. Specific objectives: Select the most suitable technologies for the regeneration process and the combinations of salts and solvents that can maximise the system performance. Create new knowledge for developing: membranes for the selected solutions; membrane manufacturing concepts that can be scaled-up for high volume and low-cost production; efficient stacks suitable for this application; energy efficient regeneration processes. Implement and validate a process simulation tool to analyse the performance under different configurations and operating conditions. Evaluate and improve the performance of the overall system through tests on a lab-prototype, identifying potential up-scaling and operational issues (System efficiencies reaching 15% and power densities of 25 W/m2 of cell pair). Define a development roadmap, taking into account environmental, social and regulatory issues, leading to levelised cost of electricity below 0.03 Euro/kWh by 2025 to 2030. Involve target group representatives to the Advisory Board and communicate the key results in order to initiate a dialogue and facilitate the engagement of key actors.

The REvivED water project will establish electrodialysis (ED) as the new standard providing a source of safe, affordable, and cost-competitive drinking water, using less than half the energy required by state-of-the-art Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants. The innovations of the project constitute a technology platform with a very wide field of potential applications. All components and systems have reached at least TRL4 and will be further developed reaching at least TRL7. The main focus of the project will be on the following applications: 1. A simplified ED system that can be used for brackish water desalination (8 pilots in developing countries) or for tap-water softening (2 pilots in Germany and the Netherlands). 2. A multistage ED system for industrial-scale seawater desalination, which will be demonstrated to reach energy consumption as low as 1.5 kWh/m3 (1 pilot in the Netherlands) 3. Combinations of the multistage ED system with the latest salinity gradient power systems (Reverse ElectroDialysis - RED), which can further reduce energy consumption for seawater desalination to the region of 1 kWh/m3 (1 pilot in the Netherlands) 4. The versatile nature of the developed innovations will be demonstrated by testing their combinations with Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems (1 pilot in Spain). This will allow initial market introduction, without the need to replace the extensive RO infrastructure. The pilot systems in developing countries will be located in critical areas where the project partner PHAESUN has local offices in Africa (Eritrea, Ivory Coast, Somalia, Djibouti and Ethiopia), Asia (Dubai, and India) and Latin America (Panama). The consortium brings together leading partners covering the whole value chain and ensuring exploitation of the results. It is clearly industry driven, and it gives European industry the chance to take the lead of the ED revival and face the competition from the US that is also actively pursuing this important growth market.

IntelWATT aims to develop innovative, cost efficient, smart separation technologies applied in energy and water intensive industries. The goal of the project is to demonstrate 3 TRL7 case studies that will achieve water preservation along with energy production and material recovery. The proposed solutions will also target at zero liquid discharge while implementing maximum water reuse. Tailor made sensors and automated decision making mechanisms will optimize the process conditions in real time. The case studies will be implemented in crucial EU and global industrial applications such as electricity production, mining and metal plating. -Case study 1:Demonstration prototype for CTBD treatment. The development of efficient, cost effective, smart solutions for water management in a thermoelectric power plant, aiming at minimization of the cooling tower blow down (>99% recovery) trough developing a pilot unit of 100 m3/day treatment capacity installed in the premise of PPC’s unit V (natural gas combined circle facility, Megalopolis, Greece) based on a closed loop, near zero liquid discharge approach. -Case study 2: Demonstration of a symbiotic concept between industries: sustainable production of energy and water. In this context, an integrated pilot unit (100 m3/day) comprised by Reverse Electrodialysis (RED) and solar powered membrane distillation (MD) systems. -Case study 3: The application of a novel, hybrid high recovery RO (HRRO) / Ion exchange (IX) resin prototype will demonstrate the recovery of valuable electrolytes and fresh water preservation in a plastic electroplating facility. The process is aiming towards recovering up to 95 % of Chromium and Copper and 50% of Nickel, while preserving 65% of fresh water. Implement smart sensor technology for online monitoring, real time process adaptation and deep learning, with customizable intelligent industrial process software module based on an agnostic protocol connectivity cloud infrastructure.