WATERLOO, ONTARIO, FEBRUARY 6, 2017 — On January 27, 2017, the Southern Ontario Water Consortium (SOWC) was proud to host an announcement of the first large project to receive funding under its Advancing Water Technologies (AWT) program.
GE Water & Process Technologies (GE) will work with the University of Guelph (U of G) along with McMaster University, to test new ways to reduce energy consumption while at the same time generating energy from the wastewater treatment process and utilizing beneficial resources from wastewater.
"The consumption of energy in wastewater treatment is substantial," said Glenn Vicevic, Product Management Executive, GE Water & Process Technologies.
By working with SOWC and the Universities of Guelph and McMaster on this pilot, we are gathering critical data to improve energy recovery and bring new technology to market."
Lloyd Longfield, Member of Parliament for Guelph made the announcement on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
"Canada is committed to investing in clean energy technology producers because clean technologies – such as those that will result from this sub-project – have the potential to advance the way communities manage their resources, consume energy and improve quality of life" said MP Longfield.
This part of the project will be led by McMaster University researcher Younggy Kim and will include the development of a numerical model simulation and includes a full scale pilot installation at a facility in London, Ontario for validation.
The AWT investment includes nearly $600,000 through both the U of G and McMaster projects.
GE will invest $900,000 for the project.
SOWC’s Advancing Water Technologies program, which supports collaborative, industry-led technology development projects, is funded by FedDev Ontario through a $12-million contribution announced by Prime Minister Trudeau in 2016.