WESTLAND REGION

The Netherlands

Circular solutions for :

Westland is a dense region of urban and industrial areas (including Rotterdam
harbour) and greenhouse complexes. The Province of South Holland, cities, the
water sector, industry and agriculture are working towards a more circular use of
water, resource recovery and renewable energy sources.

Several initiatives are active including excess rainwater falling on greenhouses temporally stored in the subsurface and used for irrigation. Inside the greenhouses, water is  recirculated, evaporated water is condensed and emission of  nutrients and pesticides minimised. Advanced  purification, green gas production and resource recovery is practiced in several WWTPs and recovered materials are brokered to end users through an innovative nation-wide business model (by AquaMinerals).

Horticulture companies are exploring collective purification and investment in High Temperature Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (HT-ATES). New communal efforts to better  exploit this resource are under way: specifically, a ‘heat  roundabout’ is being constructed through which excess heat from the port of Rotterdam is transferred to the Westland Region and used by greenhouses.

Relevant Data

Households
0.1 M
Industries
10 000
PJ
100 - 100
PJ
120 - 50

Demo site:

Westland Region

Relevant sectors

Key innovations & actions

  • Analyze progress of on-going water cycle, resource recovery and sustainble energy activies in the Westland region. Define suited management strategies for these topics.
  • Feasibility study of potential role of a High Temperature-Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage system (HT-ATES) at the horticulture Koppert Cress in the South-Holland heat roundabout contributing to an integrated water-energy approach.

Lead partners