The Water Systems & Services Innovation Centre

1. The Water Systems & Services Innovation Centre
Kevin Fitzgibbon

2. Introduction: Nimbus & WSSIC
Nimbus Embedded Systems…
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Centre for Embedded Systems
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Cumulative funding c. €30M since 2006
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Over €4.2m funding in 2013
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Over 220 funded industry projects completed; over 60 now underway
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50 prospects in the pipeline > €3m
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40 disclosures/licences/patents in 4 yrs
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Expertise: Hardware, Software, Controls & Optimisation, Wireless Comms, Cloud- based systems, Data Handling, UX
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Domain Expertise: Energy, Water, e-Learning, e-Health, Internet of Things
….Trialling at LITMUS
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LITMUS Technology Trialling Centre
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Real-world test beds for technology
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National Building Energy Systems Test Bed at Nimbus
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CIT campus-wide trials
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Macroom WWTP Test Bed
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Mallow Test Bed Town 1 Gb node + wireless research backbone
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Saves up to 18 months setup time
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Access to 11,000 Population

3. Over 90 staff; high levels of industrial, innovation and research experience
Skill and capability profiles
Number
PhD Post Docs
13
Masters Graduates
16
Degree Graduates
16
Interns/Undergrads
10
Managed own companies / worked in start-ups
13
Industry experience > 15 years
7
Industry experience 6 to 15 years
10
Industry experience 0 to 5 years
10
Innovation and Research experience > 15 years
4
Innovation and Research 6 to 15 years
15
Innovation and Research 0 to 5 years
25
Nimbus – People

4. Best-in-class solutions
Leading-edge water technologies and services
Partner with leading academia, companies & SMEs
New platform solutions for water
Focus Areas
Water Systems & Services Innovation Centre
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A 3-way Partnership: CIT, Cork City Council, Cork County Council
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Uses CIT’s labs and research assets
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Active in all major water sectors
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Current Project Value €865k
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Pipeline c. €3m
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Managed like a business
The Vision: An Industry-Focussed Research and Innovation Centre for the Water Sector

5. Water Systems & Services Innovation
AREAS OF WORK
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Embedded sensing and control for water systems
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Anaerobic digestion and wastewater treatment processes
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Energy from water-wastes
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Catchment management
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Environment monitoring
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Emerging contaminants
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Advanced treatment methods
OTHER ASSETS
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Water & Environment Laboratory
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CAPPA – Photonics and Process Analysis Centre
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Instrumentation, Mass Spectrometry and Sensing Labs
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
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Major Multinational Industry Partners
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Cross-sector industry interest – local authorities, pharmaceutical, food & drink sector; utilities
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Trialling technology from WSSIC projects

6. Water Project Examples
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WatNOS – Cost and Energy efficiency in Water Pumping
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FOGMON – Remote monitoring of FOGs for optimum servicing and sewer protection
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AquaMetrics – Smart water sub-metering from a single location
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Integrated Monitoring Buoy – Environmental water quality monitoring at low cost with data transmission to cloud
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Sludge Drying Beds – Zero energy sludge dewatering to 10% dry solids for transport and treatment energy cost reduction

7. •
Up to 75% of energy in WT Plants is for pumping water
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Watnos aims to reduce pumping cost
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Uses detailed system modelling
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It’s all about ‘How the plant is run’
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Initial model trials for Lee Road WTP indicate potentially high savings available: perhaps > 20-25%
Watnos Project
76%
8%
4%
1%
1%
8%
1%
1%
Energy Consumption Breakdown in WTP
Pumping
Lighting and Building
Monitoring Equipment
Chlorination
Filtration
Aeration
Disinfection
Desalination

8. FOGMON Project
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Fats Oils & Greases MONitoring
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Innovative sensors
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Integrated sensing, data transmission & monitoring system
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Optimises maintenance & collection operations – reduced energy use
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Reduces pipe blockage and/or unnecessary cleaning
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Support from Industry- leading Partners
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Commercialisation Funding €268k secured from Enterprise Ireland
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Trialling in real-world test beds: Cork & Mallow

9. AquaMetrics Project
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Targeting utilities and large industrial & other water users
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Single-point metering on a water network
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Disaggregation of downstream flows at point of abstraction
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Innovative sensors
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Integrated sensing, data transmission & monitoring system in real time
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Data analysis for usage optimisation & leak detection
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Energy savings at point of production based on use minimisation

10. Integrated Monitoring Buoy –
Environmental Water Quality
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Zero-energy WWTP sludge dewatering
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Sludge conc. > 10% d.s. achieved
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Targeting small / rural locations
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Significant cost reduction for onward transport
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Process automation in progress
SDB – Sludge Dewatering
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Real-time monitoring of water quality parameters
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Sediment and Nutrient Loadings for transport behaviour modelling
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Low-cost low-maintenance platforms for continuous monitoring
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CIT aspects: Design and development of all aspects

11. Opportunities for Innovation
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Energy Reduction & Recovery
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Treatment Processes/Compliance
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Nutrient Recovery/Re-use
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Infrastructure Rehabilitation/Upgrade
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Monitoring & Automation
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Climate Change Adaptation/Infrastructure Resilience
G Galvin Irish Water

12. The Water Systems & Services Innovation Centre
Kevin Fitzgibbon