Following the successful workshop in the afternoon of 17 September 2025, the NEWater Project consortium convened a full meeting hosted at ICRA’s facilities in Girona. This meeting brought together project partners from research institutes, universities and industry to review progress to date, address technical and operational issues, and map out next-steps for lab implementation, validation and market readiness.
The consortium discussion focused on a number of critical items:
- Assessment of the current status of NEWater’s four demonstration laboratories (Labs 1 to 4) that span different non-conventional water sources (urban wastewater, greywater, brine concentrates) and application contexts (agriculture, hydrogen production, decentralized urban systems).
- Technical performance review of the nature-based hybrid systems under development — including NBS green walls treating greywater (Lab4, in Girona), nutrient recovery and hydrochar applications, advanced membranes for high recovery desalination and integrated energy–water systems.
- Business models and market-uptake strategies: how to move beyond demonstration to replicable, cost-effective solutions that integrate water, energy, nutrients and circular economy value chains. NEWater emphasises the creation of new services and jobs in water-energy-agriculture sectors.
- Regulatory, social acceptability and stakeholder engagement issues: given the nature-based treatment of non-conventional water streams, discussions highlighted the need for governance frameworks, stakeholder buy-in and public acceptance, especially when edible crops are irrigated with reclaimed water streams.
- Planning for the next phase: setting timelines for validation, cost/benefit assessment, replication strategies and preparation of deliverables for the mid-term review of the project.
By consolidating these strategic directions, the consortium reinforced the alignment across partners and reaffirmed the project’s ambition: to deliver a water-system transformation oriented towards resource recovery, circular economy and climate resilience. As the NEWater Project expands its demonstration footprint and prepares for market and policy uptake, this meeting ensures that technical innovation is matched with business viability and societal relevance.