Tencate to provide geotextiles for drinking water project

The GreenSource project provides safe water storage that makes possible a continuous clean and safe water supply. The filtered water can be used for drinking, irrigation or for sanitary purposes. Rainwater, river water and groundwater can all be stored in the non-clean water tanks. The synthetic turf system can be used as a sports field for both children and adults. In this way the multifunctional GreenSource system combines synthetic turf with water management.

Viruses and bacteria are removed by means of membrane technology. The filtration unit will be stored in a compact building, which will also have a small classroom for providing instruction on water and sanitation. The treated water will be stored in clean-water tanks and used for drinking water, the irrigation of agricultural crops and for spraying the synthetic turf sports pitch.

The system can provide approximately 50 litres a minute of filtered, safe drinking water. When it is used for 16 hours a day, it can filter approximately 50,000 litres a day,or about 17 million litres annually. Solar panels provide the greater part of the energy for the pumps and lighting. The filtration membranes must be replaced every five years. The synthetic turf pitch should be replaced every ten years. If necessary, the non-clean water tanks can also be cleaned.

Pragmatic industrial approach

Since 2010 large companies in the Eastern Netherlands have been forming industrial partnerships within the AMMON foundation, with the aim of achieving technological innovations at an accelerated rate that involve new high-tech materials, products and systems and of rolling these out in international markets. South Africa is only one of these.

The Dutch provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland support this targeted mode of industrial cooperation and have created attractive conditions by supporting the building of demonstrators and becoming a launch customer. The demonstrator forms the basis for the final product design, which is aimed at high-volume production.

A demonstrator of the innovative GreenSource drinking water system was built earlier by OICAM, the Open Innovation Center Advanced Materials, and can be found on display in Nijverdal, the Netherlands. Through development cooperation in South Africa the Dutch government has now become a launch customer. The Advanced Materials Manufacturing Oost-Nederland (AMMON) foundation is monitoring the innovation, from business plan to the relevant market.

Technological innovation

From a rich industrial history, the Eastern Netherlands has evolved into a top technological region. The manufacturing industry is a key driver of the Dutch economy, including the knowledge economy. The region has one of the largest concentrations of high-tech companies in the Netherlands.

Many of these companies are now faced with the challenge of moving from product to system innovation in order to safeguard their future earning potential. This requires targeted cooperation between companies involved in systems development, implementation and joint marketing - the reason for the establishment of AMMON.

AMMON foundation