ULTIMATE: indUstry water-utiLiTy symbIosis for a sMarter wATer society

Wastewater can act as a reusable resource as well as a vector for energy and materials to be extracted, treated, stored and reused. The EU-funded ULTIMATE project will operate as a catalyst for Water Smart Industrial Symbiosis (WSIS), in which water/wastewater plays a key role within a dynamic socio-economic and business oriented industrial ecosystem. ULTIMATE will demonstrate the multiple uses of municipal and industrial wastewater through nine high-level demonstrations in Europe and the south-eastern Mediterranean from the agro-food processing, beverage, heavy chemical/petrochemical and biotech industries. It will recover, treat and reuse industrial and municipal wastewater, derive and exploit energy, and extract valuable materials contained in industrial wastewater. It will also advance innovative collaborations between businesses, water service providers, regulators and policymakers for a more circular and socially responsible industry.