Wabag teams with Chennai university on desalination/reuse research

VA Tech Wabag Ltd of India signed an agreement on 9 June 2009 with Anna University in Chennai for a joint research programme looking at new technologies related to water recycling, membrane desalination processes and reduction of sludge in wastewater reuse plants.

Anna University, represented by its vice-chancellor, Dr P Mannar Jawahar, and Wabag, represented by its managing director, Rajiv Mittal, signed a memorandum of understanding for a collaboration programme, which will include:

A university-industry support mechanism, which will facilitate technological innovation, ie launch of products, processes and services onto the market;

Provision of specific knowledge, by the partners, essential to innovation and support by way of specifically educated personnel and research infrastructure. Wabag is also to furnish both technological and marketing know-how, as well as project management experience;

The facilitation of the successful conversion of scientific results and technological ideas into commercial innovations in the field of water and wastewater treatment;

Co-ordination via Wabag with leading European universities, as well as Wabag Europe’s research and development (R&D) centres, in order to provide expertise on special topics such as membrane technology;

The exchange of scientific and process engineering personnel. Wabag’s R&D policy is to develop processes and technologies that meet the requirements of each specific market. In pursuance of this goal, a multi-domestic innovation strategy has been implemented, and several international R&D partnerships have been successfully established, for instance in Switzerland and Austria;

Use of the expertise gathered from Wabag’s cooperation with the Zurich water authority and Vienna’s main wastewater treatment plant in Austria, as well as with leading university and research institutes, which is aimed at accomplishing optimum results.