Aarhus ReWater - the world’s most resource efficient wastewater treatment plant

Ensuring a both economically and environmentally optimised wastewater structure for the future, we need to build a new and bigger Wastewater Treatment Plant near Marselisborg, Aarhus. Our goal is simple but ambitious – we want it to be the world’s most resource efficient wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). And a facility that contributes to a more liveable Aarhus.

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Meeting the needs from a city in growth

In 2005 the Aarhus City Council decided to optimise the wastewater structure in the Aarhus area by reducing the operating costs of the wastewater treatment plants.
As a result, it was decided to consolidate the wastewater treatment operation into two large-scale and much more efficient plants equipped with the most environment-friendly and efficient technologies. Aarhus Vand and The City of Aarhus decided to work towards a structure of the two WWTP’s: Egaa and Marselisborg. A consolidation estimated to reduce operating costs by 40 percent.

At the same time Aarhus municipality is facing an annual increase in population of 6,000 people. This increase needs to be accommodated by increasing the capacity and performance of the wastewater treatment plants.

In the consolidation into only two future WWTP’s, Egaa WWTP has already undergone an extensive energy renovation to meet the future needs for capacity and is today producing more electricity than it uses. The existing Marselisborg WWTP on the other hand has proven to be too small to meet the future demands and the current location does not allow the necessary expansion.

At the same time, we need to meet the demands and expectations for a cleaner harbour and bay area creating liveability for plants, animals and people. It will therefore be essential to avoid polluting the receiving waters with the increased phosphorus and nitrogen discharges even as the population grows. Therefore, we need to build a new and bigger Wastewater Treatment Plant to replace Mareslisborg WWTP, namely The world’s most resource efficient WWTP – Aarhus ReWater

The new wastewater treatment plant, Aarhus ReWater, will be located nearby the current Marselisborg WWTP at Tangkrogen – an area of 12 hectares near the Marselisborg Forest in the south-eastern part of midtown Aarhus. Nearby is the harbour and marina a well as a residential area and a space for cultural events.

Making room for urban development

The consolidation of our WWTPs serves not only a more efficient and cost-effective operation and reduction of the environmental impact – it also unleashes new possibilities for urban development.

Our goal is to utilize the specific potential of the site and the central location on Tangkrogen – at the foot of the forest, and at the beginning of an attractive coastline – to make sure that the new plant fit into the local surroundings.

At the same time, our goal is for the plant to contribute positively to the development of both Tangkrogen locally and in terms of liveability in Aarhus in general by obtaining a multi-functionality in design and land use.

More than wastewater treatment

Aarhus ReWater will become the world’s most resource efficient wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Using state-of-the-art technology to enhance its performance, the WWTP will set new standards both nationally and internationally. Our ambition is to not only meet the current and future requirements within purifying of water, but to be a leading player in securing an optimal aquatic environment in Aarhus Bay benefitting both humans and nature.

Building a new WWTP, our ambition is to establish not only a wastewater treatment plant but a ‘resource plant’. By this we mean that the plant, in addition to the purifying of water, will also produce energy and nutrients from the wastewater to an unprecedented extent. Developing the new WWTP into a future resource plant, we have chosen to name the new plant Aarhus ReWater. The “Re” referring to the words “resources”, “recycle”, “reuse” and “rethink” allowing for a broader mind-set on how to manage wastewater treatment and water supply in the future.

A resource plant

Aarhus ReWater will not only be treating wastewater, but also produce energy from the wastewater to an unprecedented extent. The ambition is to have an energy neutral supply of drinking water and wastewater treatment.

Aarhus ReWater will be extracting and utilising valuable resources from the wastewater. Resources that today are classified as waste, can be used for green energy, heating and fertiliser.

By utilising these resources, we can reduce the costs of wastewater treatment by selling electricity, heat and biogas, extraction of resources such as heavy metals, phosphorus and plastic, or cultivation of crops that both cleans and can be used for fuel or industrial production.

A learning plant for the future

How the new plant will look like when build in 2028 we don’t yet know. What we do know is that our ambition on making it the world’s most efficient WWTP cannot be achieved by today’s technologies and solutions. Therefore, the ambition is not to build a plant that stands unchanged, but a plant that will constantly help us expand our knowledge and therefore can be continually improved.

Technology and requirements are constantly changing. Therefore, our job is not to build a finished plant, but to build a “learning” plant that will be able to meet the existing demands while still being adaptable and making us wiser. Thus, Aarhus ReWater will be a place for developing and testing new or optimised treatment processes.

While a lot of the technologies acquired to build a WWTP is already known to us – and in use on our current plants – other technologies are yet to be developed. This is why we in our innovation strategy for Aarhus ReWater has formulated 15 innovation challenges, that is to be addressed – and solved – in the forthcoming years.

We cannot solve all the challenges ourselves. Therefore, we invite companies, knowledge institutions, and citizens to develop the future Aarhus ReWater with us.

Inge Halkjær Jensen

Project Manager

Head of Innovation & Planning

E-mail: inge.h.jensen@aarhusvand.dk

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