ESA Technology Transfer Success Story - Cities as Spaceships: The circular resource economy • Oct 2021
The wastewater of major cities is rich on nutrients and
abundantly available. SEMiLLA IPStar and ESA are cooperating to tab into this
resource by creating a water recycling system based on the circular life
support MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) of
the ISS. The technology transfer of MELiSSA technology for terrestrial use aims
to create a self-sustaining waste management system in urban areas to support
city inhabitants with the recovery of nutrients and clean water. The approach
goes hand in hand with a further SEMiLLA project, the SEMiLLA Sanitation.
Hereby, public urinals are equipped with distillation technology to restore
nutrients.
A first pilot study for the recycling of urban waste was
introduced in the municipally of Amsterdam. This will support Amsterdam to be a
sustainable and circular city by 2050. Hereby, 600 000 tonnes CO2
are saved (3% of Amsterdam city total), 80-90% of wastewater can be reused as
clean water for plant production in Amsterdam (generating daily 2kg of
vegetables per person), and, at the same time, the used raceway reactor is 10x
less expensive than its existing counterparts. As a result, food waste is
reduced, the city receives economic benefits of €600m, and 1200 new jobs are created within
the next 5-7 years.
Besides the economic upsides, the implications for environmental and sustainability goals are substantial. Urban areas have a worldwide natural resource consumption of 75% and a production of 50% of the waste. With a predicted rural escape to increase in the upcoming decades, the challenge of clean and circular cities is more pressing than ever. An extension of the technology directly contributes to five of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
- Zero Hunger
- Clean Water and Sanitation
- Sustainable Cities and Communities
- Responsible Consumption and Production
- Climate Action
This initiative is led by ESA's Technology Transfer and Patent Management Unit (TTPO) in ESA's Directorate for Commercialisation, Industry & Procurement. The Unit is guiding start-ups, entrepreneurs and European businesses in developing spin-offs for ESA's space technologies. More recent successful transfers can be accessed at: Technology Transfer - Funded Projects. For more information, please contact patent@esa.int.
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