Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

The innovative technologies demonstrated in this project have been developed in cooperative public-private R&D consortia and partnerships, which require high investments and have a high uncertainty of economic success. Although integrated and participatory approaches were followed, in practice, the actual uptake is often less straightforward than originally anticipated. In the field of integrated water management in urban and catchment areas, it has been widely recognized that impediments are not only technological, but also they are related to the social-institutional, regulatory, knowledge, and capacity of the user. Therefore, in addition to technological issues, this project will also focus on these other barriers. The institutional approach of the regime framework of Brown will be applied to clearly identify enabling and constraining factors for a successful implementation of these technologies in their key application areas.

Together with an in-depth analysis of relevant stakeholders’ experiences and expectations on different levels, potential drivers and existing barriers for the uptake of novel technologies in the market will be identified. Aspects of environmental impact and cost assessment in the life cycle (LCA/LCC) of these innovative technologies will be addressed to support decision making and identify and prevent problem-shifting between different parts of the life cycle or between environmental impacts (e.g. increased effluent quality by elimination of emerging pollutants versus higher energy demand and carbon footprint). It is foreseen to develop required USEtox characterization factors (CFs) for emerging pollutants and to integrate them into the LCA methodology. Tools provided through this project will support the transfer of technologies initially developed in water technology-related research projects into practice, so that the full range of costs and benefits (environmental and economic) can be benchmarked against more established standard technologies.

Based on the results and stakeholder workshops, DEMEAU will explore and finally propose effective implementation routes for promising technologies based on their unique selling propositions (USPs). Such examples are the uptake of innovations in self-regulatory systems of the water sector at Member State level, the uptake of innovations in tender procedures of large scale investment programmes on national and European level (Structural, Cohesian Funds) and the provision of guidance on implementing joint procurement procedures for innovations between water utilities. Additionally, water utilities and operators who plan to implement emerging technologies for micropollutants removal should benefit from a transparent decision support.

News

In June, the DEMEAU project will hold its series of final dissemination events. To tailor the final events to the diverse stakeholders and interest groups of the project, the events will be held...

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Is your drinking water clean? Is it safe to drink? The animation illustrates what emerging pollutants are, how they enter water sources and what role individuals can take in improving the quality...

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Recently the partners of Work Area (WA) 5 have published a report on perceived drivers and barriers for successful implementation of the four groups of technologies investigated in DEMEAU:...

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Events

24 to 26 June, 2015
Brussels, Belgium

DEMEAU will be presented by Theo van den Hoven at this year's WssTP Water Innovation Europe conference. On June 24, he will give a brief overview of the project, the technologies and the Unique... more

17 to 18 June, 2015
Neugut, Dübendorf, Switzerland

DEMEAU held the first in its three part series of final events in Zurich, Switzerland on June 17-18, 2015. Hosted on the premises of Eawag just outside of Zurich in Dübendorf, attendees engaged in... more

on 11/06/2015
WAG Nordeifel mbH, Roetgen, Germany

***English version below***

Das EU-finanzierte Projekt DEMEAU: Demonstration von Technologien zur Behandlung neuer Schadstoffe in der Wasser- und Abwasserreinigung organisierte den sechsten... more

19 to 20 May, 2014
KWR premises, Niewegein, the Netherlands

The second annual Project Steering Board meeting of the FP7 project DEMEAU took place on May 19th and 20th at the premises of KWR Watercycle Research Institute in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands.... more

 
14 to 15 November, 2013
Barcelona, Spain

The Catalan Water Partnership aims to enhance the strategical reflexion with all stakeholders in the water sector in Catalunya and wants to foster the further internationalisation and innovation... more

19 to 20 June, 2013
ETH Zurich & Eawag

Several DEMEAU partners attended the Micropol &... more

8 to 9 November, 2012
Dunea; Den Haag, The Netherlands

The EU funded project DEMEAU kicked off on 8 and 9 November at Dunea, the water utility of The Hague and its surrounding area. The event marks the beginning of a three-year demonstration of... more