green tech insights - BMLRT, bmlrt.gv.at · 2016. 10. 28. · Index Editor green jobs Austria...

green tech insights

Sustainable Water Technologies and Services

Index

Editor

green jobs Austria

Represented by: Florian Beer

Schottenfeldgasse 59/6, A-1070 Vienna

ZVR No. 747111754

Phone: +43 (0) 1 / 89 04 270 – 10

Fax: +43 (0) 1 / 89 04 270 – 50

Email: [email protected]

www.greenjobsaustria.at

Drafting team

Florian Beer, Manuel Binder

Initiator

Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management

Stubenring 1, A-1012 Vienna

www.lebensministerium.at

Design: www.nova-druck.at

Austria is endowed with abundant water resources

and we are proud of our water and its good qua-

lity. Sustainable water technologies and services,

too, have a long tradition in Austria. Local busines-

ses offer a great variety of innovative water techno-

logies – ranging from production, hydropower and

comprehensive wastewater treatment through to

counseling activities and agricultural irrigation. High

export quotas and numerous foreign branches of

domestic water technology and service companies

show that Austrian products and services are in de-

mand worldwide.

National and EU-wide environmental standards

make specialised knowledge and extensive ex-

perience very important in this area. Precisely this

know-how distinguishes our local companies and

institutions from others and makes our technologies

known and proven around the world. It is also the

prerequisite for reconciling economy and ecology.

To stay one step ahead, an intense cooperation bet-

ween industry and research institutions is necessa-

ry. That is the only way in which we will be able to in-

crease our potential for innovation and to ensure our

leading role in sustainable water technologies and

services.

Niki Berlakovich

Austrian Federal Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management

close 3 press escape

4 green tech insights

Preface

The present brochure describes the competences of

Austria’s water technology and service industry in

an international context.Practical examples illustra-

te innovative activities of domestic companies and

institutions. Via the listed Internet links further sour-

ces of information and sector relevant contacts are

provided.

The folder intends to give economic and political

decision makers, but also companies, some insight

into the skills and strengths of the Austrian water

technology and service industry and thereby is to

increase the demand for domestic, innovative pro-

ducts and services.

The range of services displayed includes the cross-

thematic areas research & development, consulting,

planning and concept development as well as plant

construction, water supply, wastewater treatment

and hydropower. Environmental aspects play a ma-

jor role in Austria in all of these areas. Sustainable

water management is of overriding importance.

5green tech insights


Water Technologies and Services in Austria

”The Austrian water technology and service sector covers a broad field of activities.”The importance of water management in Austria re-

sults in a wide range of domestic water technologies

and services.

This includes the cross-thematic areas of

• researchandinnovation;

• consulting(projectmanagement,funding)

as well as the technology fields of

• construction,operationandmaintenanceof

water and wastewater infrastructure (treatment

anddistributionofdrinkingwater;collection,

drainageandtreatmentofwastewater);

• processwater(coolingsystems,boilerwater

supply,purificationandtreatment);

• hydropower;

• analysis,measurementandmonitoringofwater

andsoil;

• desalinationofseawater;

• rainwatercollectionandutilisation;

• agriculturalirrigation.

For more information on the Austrian water

and wastewater management industry, please

visit www.umwelttechnik.at

“Austrian water technologies and services are in demand worldwide.“ Worldwide demand for Austrian water technologies

and services and high export ratios are clear signs

of the know-how of the Austrian industry and of the

high, internationally appreciated Austrian quality

standard.


FACTBOX AUSTRIAAlthough export activities focus on Austria's

neighboring countries, Austrian companies

are active worldwide, for example in countries

like China, Canada, Croatia, and Algeria.

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Interaction between ecology, economy and technologyLocal enterprises and institutions have recognised

the added value of merging economic, environmen-

tal and technical aspects of water management in

all spheres of activity. They try to follow this path

consistently and, to maximise the benefits for the

environment, take efforts to integrate also other re-

newable energy technologies into water manage-

ment concepts.

“Environment and water technology in symbiosis.“Commercial use of hydroelectric power should be in

harmony with ecological approaches. The EU Water

Framework Directive, for example (good ecological

status of all water bodies), provides for the cons-

truction of fish ladders and for sufficient residual

amounts of water for hydropower plants. Due to the

large number of hydropower plants in Austria do-

mestic companies and research institutes have ac-

cumulated extensive knowledge in this area, which

they use all over the world.

“Solar and wind energy can be stored in water.“Austria’s water technology and management will

play a crucial role in the integration of other rene-

wable energy sources into the European electricity

grid. The steady expansion of wind power, especially

in Northern Europe, and of photovoltaics, primarily in

Southern Europe, makes powerful, efficient energy

storage technologies indispensable. Austria’s pump

storage power plants can be perfectly used to store

energy during times of peak electricity production

and to supply the grid with current in times of in-

creased demand. Thus a load-balancing between

production and consumption is possible and the

Europe-wide power supply with renewable energy

can be stabilised.

Austrian research institutions and companies enga-

ge intensively in solar thermal seawater desalinati-

on, another combination of several fields of environ-

mental technologies.

FACTBOX AUSTRIAAustria has currently a pumping storage ca-

pacity of 7,000 MW installed which will be

expanded by another 60 %, i.e. over 11,000

MW, by the year 2020.

Austria’s important role in balancing Europe’s

fluctuating supply from renewable energy

sources (e.g. wind and photovoltaic) will

therefore getting very important.


GOOD PRACTISEMany Austrian enterprises focus on the sym-

biosis between nature and technology. An

innovative process, developed by an Austri-

an company, allowed increasing the biogas

output from sewage treatment plants by one

fifth by using systematic breakup technology,

biochemical exploration and electrokinetic

optimisation. In addition to the economic ad-

vantages (lower energy consumption, higher

income) the environmental impact is reduced

significantly (reduced need of flocculants, hig-

her degradation rates of sewage sludge).

Apart from the production of biogas, waste-

water can also be used for heat production.

Following the principle of “clean energy from

dirty water”, the residual heat contained in

wastewater can be extracted by means of a

heat pump. A project of a municipal Austrian

enterprise demonstrates this way of genera-

ting green energy. Furthermore, the sewage

sludge which is accumulated during the was-

tewater treatment process is used (together

with organic waste arising in the region) to

produce biogas. Through the utilisation of the-

se innovative technologies, renewable heat

and electricity production can be combined

ideally to replace the input of fossil fuels. This

project saves 16,000 tons of CO2 emissions

per year.

“Ecological flood protection reduces risks in a sustainable way.“Floods events in Austria and many other countries

emphatise the need for a reliable flood protection

system. Austria’s approach is ecological flood pro-

tection, which does not exclusively rely on protecti-

ve barriers but rather provides for natural retention

areas as a sustainable means of coping with water

masses. The existing know-how of local companies

can help reduce the risk of floods in many other

flood-prone countries.

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green tech insights

Good practise: Vienna’s main wastewater treatment plant

Vienna’s main wastewater treatment plant does not

only purify the waste-water of all city households,

but also uses several renewable energy technolo-

gies to minimise the required resource input.

A Kaplan turbine was installed between the effluent of

the treatment plant and the mouth of the river Danu-

be. This turbine uses the kinetic energy of the treated

wastewater to produce about 1.5 GWh of electricity

per year. Moreover, solar thermal and photovoltaic

systems were installed in the area of the wastewater

treatment plant. A small wind power plant provides

the entire outdoor lighting system with green energy.

The wastewater treatment plant will be completely

energy self-sufficient by the year 2020. This will be

achieved through the construction of a new sewage

treatment plant. An integrated CHP plant (combined

heat and power plant) uses the energy of the se-

wage gas (20 million cubic meters of methane) to

produce 78 GWh of electricity and 82 GWh of heat

per year. Additionally, energy requirements are redu-

ced through process optimisation and infrastructural

measures (energy saving lamps, heating technolo-

gy). Due to the high in-house production and the

lower energy consumption an over production of

around 15 GWh of electricity and 42 GWh of heat is

predicted per year.

11


green tech insights

Research, development and innovation

“Austria is leading in water technology pa-tent applications.“To stay midst the top companies, innovations, tech-

nological development and research activities are

indispensable. The Austrian industry is a key player

in Europe in the field of eco-innovation. One result of

these innovation activities is the large number of en-

vironmental patents;especiallyinthewatertechno-

logy sector significantly more patents have been re-

gistered in Austria than in other European countries.

12

FACTBOX AUSTRIAAustrian research in the water technology

sector focuses on hydropower, water pro-

tection, water and wastewater purification as

well as on irrigation management. Through

continuous research activities of domestic

enterprises and institutions extensive exper-

tise has been built up and become used all

over the world.

green tech insights

GOOD PRACTISETo reduce energy, space and volume requi-

rements for wastewater treatment plants an

Austrian company developed an innovative

technology which is applied all around the

world, for example in India, China, Saudi Ara-

bia, and Chile. In this cyclic activated sludge

process equalising basins and stirring units of

wastewater treatment plants can be dropped

due to improved process control and simul-

taneous operational procedures. The result is

a continuous process with maximum nitrogen

and phosphorus removal rates and optimum

machine and aggregate utilisation.

Another Austrian company developed a tech-

nology making it possible to rehabilitate se-

wers (main pipes, service lines) selectively

in a very short time by means of UV curing.

More than 50,000 sewer rehabilitation pro-

jects around the world illustrate the strengths

of this innovative technology.

13

“Cooperation is the key to success.“Two thirds of Austria’s environmental technology

providers optimise their innovation activities by way

of cooperation. Austrian universities, public and pri-

vate research institutions act as collaboration part-

ners. Through this close interaction between opera-

tors and researchers local innovations find their way

into marketability and practical use in many regions

of the world.

Austrian research activities focus on topics of high

relevance in the future, such as “Water and climate

change” or “Water and resource efficiency”. In this

way knowledge and skills are continuously develo-

ped and expanded in these dynamic fields.


green tech insights

Consulting, planning and concept development

“Consulting is the recipe for successful project implementation.“Advisory activities of Austrian service companies

cover a wide range of services in water and waste-

water management as well as in the field of hydro-

power plants. Consulting services of local compa-

nies in sustainable water management include:

• Project planning, development and implementation

• Economic, financial and engineering analysis

• Financial management (subsidies)

• Environmental audits and risk analyses

• Preparation of expert reports and expert services

Due to their expertise Austrian consulting compa-

nies play advisory roles in projects in China, Cana-

da, Germany, Serbia, Croatia, and Turkey as well as

in many parts of Africa.

15

GOOD PRACTISEAustrian consulting firms are active in Asia

and Africa. Among the many projects comple-

ted are the preparation of a dam safety survey

and a water resources planning study in Sri

Lanka on behalf of FAO, the development of

a financing concept for rural water infrastruc-

ture in Rwanda as well as the implementation

and organisation of a “train-the-trainer” pro-

gram on water sanitation in Sudan.


green tech insights

16

Construction

“International orders prove prime quality.“Construction in the water sector is playing an impor-

tant role in the Austrian economy. Large numbers

of international contracts (e.g. in the field of turbi-

ne production) furnish proof of the leading position

Austrian companies have in this field of technology.

With their expertise, local companies have fitted

up the second largest wastewater treatment plant

on the African continent with Austrian technology.

Furthermore, the river water treatment complex of a

thermal power plant in Slovakia has been moder-

nised so up to 80 % of the necessary process water

can be reused.

FACTBOX AUSTRIAIn the Austrian water and waste-water sector

turnovers and numbers of employees have

risen constantly over the past decade. This il-

lustrates the demand for domestic technology

and the continuous know-how development.

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17

GOOD PRACTISEA consortium of Austrian companies has been

entrusted with the realisation of one of the

world's largest membrane bioreactor plants

which, among other things, is to recycle the

wastewater of the Olympic Park in Beijing. For

this purpose an existing municipal wastewater

treatment plant was modernised and expan-

ded to a cleaning capacity of 100,000 cubic

meters per day. The old system, which relied

on mechanical and biological treatment, was

equipped with new ventilation systems and

an ultraviolet light disinfection system. The

expansion included a completely new waste-

water line, which is designed as a water re-

clamation plant and has a capacity of 60,000

cubic meters per day.

A water treatment plant built by an Austri-

an water technology company guarantees

the sustainable availability of potable water

for the Chinese city of Wenzhou. The water of

the river flowing through the city is treated in

an innovative multi-stage filtration and disin-

fection process so local resources are used in

an optimal way.

The product portfolio of domestic companies

includes:

• Construction,operationandmaintenanceof

water and wastewater infrastructure (drinking

and industrial water treatment plants)

• Systemdesignofwastewaterdisposaland

treatmentplants;sludgetreatment

• Processwatersystems(coolingsystems,

boiler water supply, purification, desalination,

decalcification, etc.)

• Hydropowerplants

• Installations/Constructionsforrainwater

collection and utilisation

• Agriculturalirrigationequipment

• Seawaterdesalination


green tech insights

Water supply, wastewater disposal and wastewater treatment

“The obligation of purification according to the state of the art promotes technology development.“Austria’s well-developed infrastructure of water

supply and wastewater disposal as well as the treat-

ment of the entire wastewater involve a steady de-

velopment of expertise of local businesses and the

public sector (water works operators of municipal

wastewater treatment plants). Thanks to their eco-

nomically and energetically efficient, biologically fully

compatible and innovative products, offered in com-

bination with scientific analyses and consulting acti-

vities, Austrian technologies and services are being

used worldwide. Local companies conduct projects

all over the world, for example in China, Germany,

Russia, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Repub-

lic, and Algeria.

The following areas are covered by local businesses through innovative products and services:

• Operationandmaintenanceofwatersupply and sanitation infrastructure

• Rehabilitationofexistingwatermains and sewers

• Analysisofwaterlosses(leakagedetection)

• Wastewatercollectionanddrainage (sewer cleaning, sewer TV inspection)

• Wastewatermanagement

– Mechanical and physical cleaning methods – Biological treatment processes – Chemical treatment processes – New, combined wastewater treatment processes – Sludge treatment

For more information on the Austrian water

and wastewater management industry, please

visit www.umwelttechnik.at

18

FACTBOX AUSTRIAIn Austria, more than 90 % of the population

is connected to the public water supply and

sewerage network and the entire wastewater

is fed to an appropriate treatment. The high

grid density and the large number of treat-

ment facilities lead to widespread know-how

in planning and construction but also in the

continuous maintenance of water supply and

sanitation networks.

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19

GOOD PRACTISEAustrian companies have developed innova-

tive analysing and measuring systems for the

chemical monitoring of drinking water, pro-

cess water and wastewater. These products

are used worldwide, for example in Australia,

India, Germany or Spain, and focus on envi-

ronmentally friendly methods of analysis to

keep the use of chemicals at a low level.

In addition, sewer rehabilitations in India and

Sri Lanka are planned and accomplished by

Austrian enterprises using the best available

technology. Through the use of drilling sys-

tems (like pipelining or pipe bursting) pipes

are laid without the need for a trench to pre-

serve existing buildings and structures. The

services provided by Austrian companies in-

clude sewer inspections (via CCTV) and canal

cleaning, the preparation of economic reha-

bilitation concepts as well as the design and

production of plastic components adapted to

the local conditions.


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20

Hydropower

“Hydropower is a mainstay in Austria’s energy mix.“Due to the country’s geography and climate con-

ditions, hydropower is playing an important role in

the Austrian energy industry. Approximately 60 % of

the electricity generated in Austria is from hydropo-

wer - one of the highest rates worldwide. Most of

the hydropower is produced by large power plants,

mainly by running power plants. In addition, rising

numbers of modern, eco-friendly small hydropower

plants generate electricity in Austria. This high per-

centage implies a high level of expertise in power

plant planning, construction, operation and mainte-

nance. In the field of equipment manufacturing and

supply (e.g. turbine production) Austrian companies

are among the world’s leading providers.

“Expansion and efficiency improvements are essential.“Through comprehensive modernisation and impro-

vements in the efficiency of existing hydropower

plants by optimised technical components clean

electricity can be generated while at the same time

satisfying environmental standards. As efficiency

enhancement is given utmost priority in Austria, lo-

cal companies have accumulated comprehensive

know-how over the past decades.

Electric power generation and storage via pum-

ped storage hydropower plants play a key role

in the alpine country of Austria, especially in

connection with the growing use of renewables in

Europe (see page 8).

FACTBOX AUSTRIAAt present, about 150 large and over 3,000

small hydropower plants produce clean elec-

tricity in Austria.

Through the operation of this large number of

power stations experience is collected and

expertise is built up continuously.

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21

“International demand for long-established expertise.“Through decades of intensive dealing with hydro-

power generation domestic companies have ac-

cumulated solid expertise in this field. Due to their

know-how turbines, generators and other power

plant components come into operation all around

the world.

The following areas are covered by local businesses

through innovative products and services:

• Planning, construction, operation and main-

tenance of power plants in compliance with tech-

nical, economic, ecological and social aspects

• Planning and execution of efficiency increasing

measures at existing power plants (improving

turbine technology, control systems & materials)

• Planning, production, installation and maintenance

of power plant components

GOOD PRACTISELocal companies have implemented innova-

tive projects dealing with the expansion of

existing hydropower plants. The two 240 MW

machine sets of the pumped storage power

plant Limberg II were completely installed in

anundergroundcavern in theAlps;only the

access road is visible from outside. The over-

all performance of the turbine has been dou-

bled; thepumpingcapacity (which is impor-

tant for energy storage) has been quintupled.

At peak times up to 10 % of the domestic

electricity demand can be provided through

the upgraded power plant. With a total invest-

ment of over € 400 millions about 800 green

jobs have been created annually during the

construction period.

Optimising existing plants is equally im-

portant to Austrian companies as research

and development activities to invent sus-

tainable power generation plants for future

applications. The Stromboje®, for examp-

le, was developed by an Austrian compa-

ny and uses the kinetic energy of flowing

water to produce energy without inter-

fering with the natural body of the river.

This way of innovative power generation

thus harms neither the river fauna nor the

landscape, nor does it constitute an obstacle

to shipping.


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22

Contacts

green jobs Austria

Schottenfeldgasse 59/6, A-1070 Vienna


Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry,

Environment and Water Management


www.lebensministerium.at

Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth


www.bmwfj.gv.at

Austrian Water and Solid Waste Management

Association (ÖWAV)

Marc-Aurel-Straße 5, A-1010 Vienna

www.oewav.at

Austrian Association for Gas and Water (ÖVGW)

Schubertring 14, A-1010 Vienna

www.ovgw.at

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23

Links • Businessactivities:www.umwelttechnik.at

• Researchfacilities

– Austrian Institute of Technology: www.ait.ac.at

– Danube University Krems:

www.donau-uni.ac.at

– Graz University of Technology: www.tugraz.at

– Interuniversity Center for Aquatic Ecosystem

Research: www.wasserkluster-lunz.ac.at

– Joanneum Research: www.joanneum.at

– University of Innsbruck: www.uibk.ac.at

– University of Natural Resources and

Life Sciences, Vienna: www.boku.ac.at

– University of Vienna: www.univie.ac.at

– Vienna University of Technology:

www.tuwien.ac.at

• EnvironmentalAgencyAustria:

www.umweltbundesamt.at

• ClusterOrganisations

– Green Building Cluster of Lower Austria:

www.ecoplus.at

– ECO World Styria: www.eco.at

– Green Tech Cluster Upper Austria:

www.umwelttechnik-cluster.at

– Renewable Energies Tyrol:

www.standort-tirol.at

• AustrianWater:www.austrianwater.at

• wasseraktiv:www.wasseraktiv.at

• WKO(UmweltundEnergie–Wasser:

www.wko.at

• FederalOfficeofWaterManagement:

www.baw.at

• Federation of Austrian Industries: www.iv-net.at

• Waterpool Competence Network GmbH:

www.waterpool.org

Photo Credits

Cover Photos:

Staumauer des Kraftwerks Kaprun, Verbund

leaf with rain droplets/aylinstock

Stromboje, Aqua Libre

LBS:

EBS Hauptkläranlage Wien - Luftbild, Page 11

Aqua Libre:

Stromboje, Page 21

BMLFUW/Rita Newman:

BM Niki Berlakovich, Page 3

Wasserimpressionen, Page 5

Kläranlage der Innsbrucker Kommunalbetriebe, Page 7

Klärbecken der Innsbrucker Kommunalbetriebe, Page 18

Hände waschen, Page 19

Verbund:

Generatoren im Verbund-Kraftwerk Töging, Page 16

Staumauer des Kraftwerks Kaprun, Page 21

Bauarbeiten zu Limberg II, Page 21

ebswien Daniel Terler:

EBS Hauptkläranlage Wien

Solarthermieanlage am Kläranlagengelände, Page 11

ebswien:

EBS Hauptkläranlage Wien

Windenergieerzeugung am Kläranlagengelände, Page 10

PID_Christian Houdek:

EBS Hauptkläranlage Wien - Solartankstelle, Page 11

BMLFUW/UBA-B.Gröger:

Wasseranalyse, Page 13

istockphoto.com:

leaf with rain droplets/aylinstock, Page 5

human hands showing unity/Jacob Wackerhausen, Page 4

watertap/JochenKost;Page6

world wide tacks europe america/Michael Brown, Page 7

green leaf carbon footprint concept/Franz-W. Franzelin, Page 9

Fischleiter/constandgardener, Page 9

solar panels and wind turbine/visdia, Page 8

watering system/tanika84, Page 12

pipes/Joachim Angeltun, Page 12

business people/shuravaya, Page 14

contractor and investormeeting/VILevi, Page 15

big city illustration/ИИгорь Сорокин, Page 15

blueprints/Petrea Alexandru, Page 17

water processing plant/Ewen Cameron, Page 17

maintenance workers replace filters

in water purification plant/DenGuy, Page 19

water battery/Juffin, Page 20

contact key/Goldmund Lukic, Page 22


green tech insights

green tech insights - BMLRT, bmlrt.gv.at · 2016. 10. 28. · Index Editor green jobs Austria...

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