The Helmholtz Innovation Lab CLEWATEC researches and develops new technological approaches for flexible and efficient wastewater treatment.

Wastewater treatment plants consume large amounts of energy - mainly for biological treatment in the activated sludge tanks, where microorganisms remove organic substances from the wastewater. How can the processes of wastewater treatment be made more energy-saving and efficient? How can valuable resources be recovered from wastewater? Which intelligent measurement and analysis techniques can improve the clarification process?

Together with partners from industry and research, CLEWATEC identifies the needs of the wastewater industry, develops novel technologies with the potential to meet these needs, and promotes knowledge transfer along the innovation chain to bring these technologies to society. In this way, industry and research work together to find revolutionary solutions. The following areas of expertise are served: - Energy efficiency and plant optimization - Resource recovery and emission-free technologies and - Digitalization and plant flexibilization.

By connecting the partners involved in research and development projects, CLEWATEC accelerates the product and service development process of the industrial partners and at the same time provides the research partners with all resources to further develop the knowledge for sustainable water treatment. - Problem solving of industrial partners in the test laboratory - Support for funding applications - Licensing of novel techniques - Student education through applied research projects Access to unique test laboratories, sophisticated flow measurement and imaging systems, chemical and biological analyses, and extensive computational resources enables CLEWATEC to conduct cutting-edge research in its application areas.