AquaConnect, key technologies for safeguarding regional water provision in fresh water stressed deltas
A key technology project in the research field of water in the circular economy.
Duration
September 2021 - August 2025Project Manager
AquaConnect works on solutions to enable the Netherlands and other delta regions to become self-sufficient in their freshwater provision. The goal is to demonstrate how self-sufficiency can be achieved in four specific areas: South Holland, greater Amsterdam region, Zeeland Flanders, and the high sandy ground regions.
The Dutch delta faces enormous challenges in fresh-water provision for industry, agriculture, and nature during increasingly frequent severe droughts due to climate change. This requires a major overhaul towards a water system that stores precipitation surplus instead of discharging it to the sea and uses alternative water sources. AquaConnect is instrumental in this transition by developing:
鈥hemical technologies enabling use of domestic/industrial effluents and brackish (ground)water
鈥igital technologies to design smart grid infrastructures to connect supply, demand, and nature-based storage
鈥ools to manage related societal changes
鈥emonstrations in four utilization cases and international twinning
AquaConnect:
- connecting waters by chemical and digital key technologies, models, and infrastructures
- connecting water quantity and quality
- connecting man-made and natural water systems
- connecting partners in various science disciplines and in institutions of practice
- connecting national programs and multiple pilots
- connecting national upscaling to international outreach
The role of TUE in this project is developing real-time embedded water distribution app using model predictive control and data-driven AI in close collaboration with ICT (ict.eu) and Deltares (deltares.nl).
Layman鈥檚 description
A key technology project in the research field of water in the circular economy.

Project description
AquaConnect works on solutions to enable the Netherlands and other delta regions to become self-sufficient in their freshwater provision. The goal is to demonstrate how self-sufficiency can be achieved in four specific areas: South Holland, greater Amsterdam region, Zeeland Flanders, and the high sandy ground regions.
The Dutch delta faces enormous challenges in fresh-water provision for industry, agriculture, and nature during increasingly frequent severe droughts due to climate change. This requires a major overhaul towards a water system that stores precipitation surplus instead of discharging it to the sea and uses alternative water sources. AquaConnect is instrumental in this transition by developing:
- chemical technologies enabling use of domestic/industrial effluents and brackish (ground)water
- digital technologies to design smart grid infrastructures to connect supply, demand, and nature-based storage
- tools to manage related societal changes
- demonstrations in four utilization cases and international twinning
AquaConnect:
- connecting waters by chemical and digital key technologies, models, and infrastructures
- connecting water quantity and quality
- connecting man-made and natural water systems
- connecting partners in various science disciplines and in institutions of practice
- connecting national programs and multiple pilots
- connecting national upscaling to international outreach
Researchers involved in this project
Subsidy Provider
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This project has received funding from the NWO-perspective program with the grant number TTW P19-45