Innovation is what Abengoa has always been about. Founded in 1941 in Seville, Spain, the company has been working at the forefront of the construction and technology sectors. Applying innovative solutions for sustainability in the environmental and energy industries, with long-term value for shareholders and customers, has been the hallmark of this company for the past 70 years, but what does it take to keep the water flowing?

WRITTEN BY DON CAMPBELL

THE SPECIAL TOUCH OF ABENGOA

Traditional Ghanaian dance celebrating water during the official inauguration of the Accra desalination plant

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Carlos Cosín explains that Abengoa Water is a dedicated arm of the international technology and infrastructure company Abengoa, which is centered around promoting, developing

and operating water-treatment plants, especially in the desalination business.

“To reach our goals, we have a carefully designed strategy,” Carlos reveals us, “This is based on developing our own technology, which enables us to find innovative solutions in the water-treatment sphere.”

These research and development programmes focus on improving efficiency with existing water treatment technology, as well as developing new and improved technologies and techniques. In keeping with the philosophy of innovation, the company is focused on keeping sustainable development at the forefront of its mandate.

Mr. Cosín, who is in charge of defining and leading the global strategy of Abengoa Water, a company formerly known as Befesa, considers it no act of luck that they have become key player in the world water sector, “We either own the plants we operate or we operate them for third parties under long-term contracts,” he says. He also describes that they promote the Public Private Partnership or PPP, model of contracting, “We have been successful in developing PPP projects under a host of different conditions and a range of clients,”

For example, as a leading company in the desalination sector,

thanks to the aforementioned R&D and proprietary technology and its experience and expertise, it is developing desalination plants in several key geographies, such as Asia (China & India), Latin America (Peru) and Africa (Argelia, Ghana).

BENEATH THE SURFACEAbengoa specialises in two high-growth sectors - energy and

environment - in which Carlos Cosín says it is an international leader.

“There is a growing international demand for innovative energy solutions in the field,that prioritise those that use clean and inexhaustible sources are essential,” he says and the company creates facilities that converts energy from renewable sources into electricity and biofuels, as well as constructing transmission lines that support electricity networks.

“We are specialists in turnkey projects and operating energy assets with a high technological component such as solar-thermal (CSP) plants, transmission lines, biofuel production plants, cogeneration plants,” he says.

There are a number of key areas that Abengoa are particularly interested in. To facilitate its further growth into the green energy sector it has interests in solar electricity and biofuels, “We promote, design, construct and operate electricity generation plants that use solar and photovoltaic technology as well as plants for the production of biofuels for transportation uses.”

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Speaking with Abengoa Water Chairman and CEO, Mr. Carlos Cosín Fernandez, we sought to discover what the new developments were at Abengoa Water and how they would affect its vast empire.

In fact, Abengoa is an international name in developing second-generation biofuels. But of course the traditional business, that of power transmission, is still a primary area of activity. It is revealing that a business with such a diverse set of interests can still boast being one of the main private concession holders of transmission lines in Latin America.

Abengoa Water, where the crux of our article is focused, is highly committed to environmental sustainability and with the ongoing growth of the population, the need to improve living conditions in developing countries and to manage climate change is putting pressure on resources, which is why Abengoa Water’s main activities in the water sector include producing drinking water from sea and waste water.

“We work towards sustainability,” Carlos tell us, “Offering workable solutions to create new sources of water, such as desalination and reuse of industrial and municipal waste, to name a few.”

THE SPECIAL TOUCH OF ABENGOA Given the current global economic and environmental context,

there is an apparent need to both introduce processes for lowering

massive use of raw materials and non-renewable energy sources and develop new technologies to promote efficient resource management and the use of clean energy, while lowering CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

For Abengoa, sustainability is the cornerstone of company strategy and its businesses are geared towards achieving sustainable development and management that can reduce the negative impact of operations on the environment.

“Our success lies on two different pillars,” we are told, “Firstly, innovative, in-house technology and an ability to offer the best possible solution to the needs of its clients.”

Maintaining its position at the forefront of innovation, with over €8.3 million spent on R&D this year alone – making our total accumulated R&D investment 41,7M€ since the inception of our R&D department, Abengoa structures and organises its research, focusing on developing inverse-osmosis desalination technology and treatment technology to make sea water and waste water drinkable in areas where fresh resources are scarce.

The second pillar of success is the ability to offer unique solutions that adapt to each specific situation and to the needs of its clients, “Our primary focus is the municipal client where we provide innovative solutions for these clients who are trying

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to find alternative and secure sources of water. Additionally, we are diversifying our portfolio by focusing on industrial clients as well, related to the mining, fuel (oil and gas) sectors as those who require water resources for the development of their production processes.”

In 2015 Abengoa was awared as Water Company of the Year for its outstanding work and the company can also boast of several awards acknowledging its work in the desalination sector (Desalination Company of the Year 2009 and again in 2013). As a project developer, several of its flagship projects have also been presented with awards and honors.

Water scarcity is a major global issue not only for the areas with great desertification and aridity, indeed, as climate change continues, water shortage will extend to other areas. Added to this problem is the current lack of water treatment plants and the fact that industries are large consumers of water themselves.

Mr. Cosín explains that large investments are needed to upgrade existing facilities and develop new infrastructures so that the problems of scarcity and pollution of water resources can be

alleviated. As many of the affected countries and Governments do not usually have the financial resources to address these problems there is an opportunity for private sector companies to invest in water management, build infrastructure and solve these problems and this is where Abengoa Water comes in.

EMPLOYEESOne of the key resources the company believes in investing in is

its staff. Abengoa employs 24,748 employees internationally, while Abengoa Water employs 391 employees.

“People are the principal value-generating asset and fundamental wealth of the organisation and therefore we place a high importance in creating ideal conditions for staff development.” Carlos tells us.

Encouraging and facilitating internship programmes through agreements with universities, vocational training institutes and business schools, through the Abengoa Foundation, FOCUS, is considered vital, as is the use of specialized professional networks as a recruiting tool to identify talent, which is especially important when it comes to their investments in locations such as Africa.

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Reverse osmosis racks and pumping facilities of the Accra desalination plant

ABENGOA IN AFRICAFor Africa, water scarcity, water pollution from agricultural,

mining and industrial activities and insufficient infrastructure are some of the main problems. There is also a definitive problem of access to water and sanitation in Africa, with approximately 358 million people currently lacking access to clean water and sanitation on the continent. This has provided an opportunity for Abengoa Water to develop several important projects.

The Accra Sea Water Desalination plant is the first one of its kind in Ghana and at a total cost of €126 million; it was a sizeable but essential investment. As a combined effort of Abengoa, the World Bank and African financial institutions, the plant, which has been treating water since February of 2015, is able to supply 60,000 m3/d of fresh water, sufficient for 500,000 residents within the vicinity of Accra and the surrounding areas.

“The plant uses advanced pretreatment technologies, like ultrafiltration membranes, with reverse osmosis membranes to produce the safest fresh water supply to the Great Accra’s region. It will be operated by Abengoa for 25 years and then the asset will be passed over to the client, in this case Ghana Water,” Carlos says.

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Accra is not the only African focus. The Agadir Desalination Plant in Morocco marks a new page for both the company and the country, since it will become the first project that the National Power and Drinking Water Office (ONEE) has developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) system, putting Abengoa at the forefront of this model in Morocco.

Agadir is a water-starved city with an average of 291.9mm of rain every year, meaning that it struggles to meet the demand for drinking water. With a booming tourism industry, driven by mild temperatures and natural beautiful beaches, this city needs to keep developing and ensuring its growth.

This project, which will be the largest desalination plant in the country, will contribute to the major development taking place in this region, especially in the tourism, agri-food and industrial sectors of the city. This plant will produce 100,000m3 of water per day once it is finished, enough water for almost 500,000 people.

This project offers a perfect example of Abengoa’s unique brand of solutions. Abengoa was the only company that responded to ONEE’s final RFP, as it saw the opportunity where other competitors only saw risk, thanks to the company’s expertise in the local market. This is the first BOT contract in the water sector in Morocco. Abengoa signed the contract and reached the financial closing of the project all within 2014 and has started construction in early 2015.

There are also Abengoa Water’s three desalination plants in Algeria – Tenes, Skikda and Honaine, representing an overall investment of $575 million – which offers a total production capacity in Algeria of 500,000m3/day. This allows for drinking water to be supplied to a population of more than 2,500,000 people. Other water projects include the water treatment plant of Cunene, in Angola, with a capacity of 16.3 million litres of water a day.

“Over 230 million people worldwide depend on desalinated water daily as it is a reliable and sustainable way to ensure supply that conforms to WHO standards,” Carlos reveals.

CHALLENGES OVERCOMEAs often they find themselves laying down fresh lines of

infrastructure, there are a number of hurdles that need to be overcome in the African projects. For example, in Ghana, while rich in water sources, the population suffered from a lack of a proper, reliable supply of water due to geographical problems and demographic expansion in the area. For Ghana to continue being a leading force of growth and security in the continent, its leadership knew that it had to made smart choices to bolster its economic growth.

Desalination is the faster, more reliable option to ensure water supply for local population and businesses. This project is able to produce enough water for almost half a million people, from seawater, which has the additional advantage of helping to protect other water sources in the area.

Furthermore, water coming from the desalination plant is already thoroughly treated and sanitised, which means that the plant can produce over 60,000m3 of clean, fresh water every day, making sure that the days of no water coming out of the tap are a thing of the past.

Community education and understanding is important for Abengoa Water and so the establishment of a fluent and open relationship with the local community is essential for both sides to benefit from such projects. This includes open ceremonies and a community outreach centre at the plant to allow citizens of Ghana to come and be educated on how the plant works.

“With the plant, the Greater Accra region can continue to develop, both from a residential and industrial viewpoint, making sure that Ghana continues to grow and expand.” Carlos Cosín says.

Of course this project was also possible thanks to the support of Abengoa’s partners, the Sojitz Corporation as well as Hydrocol. Abengoa has an excellent track record of working with international and local partners to make sure that the best possible solutions are always supported by experts in their field.

THE FUTURE OF ABENGOA WATER Research and development is an ongoing priority for the

company. Carlos Cosín reveals that solar desalination shows great promise and is useful as many arid areas needing water the most do have an abundance of sunlight. This has prompted several countries to invest in projects finding new ways to blend these two sustainable technologies together.

“Solar-powered desalination faces its own set of challenges,” he adds, “Since desalination plants need to be near the coast, where solar radiation is not as strong.”

In line with this new approach, Abengoa is developing the Al-Khafji desalination plant, the world’s first large-scale solar-powered set up. This project will be built in conjunction with Advanced Water Technology (AWT) in Saudi Arabia and will deliver 60,000m³ of fresh water being produced using only solar energy.

“People, industry and agriculture depend on this resource for their normal operation, this makes water management as critical an issue for survival as the supply of energy.” Carlos Cosín concludes.

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