CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION
Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
Over 2,000 million people in the world live without access to a basic drinking water service, and 3,6 billionhave no access to a basic sanitation service, resulting in avoidable deaths, chronic disease, fewer hours of education and low productivity.
ACCIONA has positioned itself as a key player in the water treatment sector. Its innovative management seeks to resolve the challenges with respect to the shortage of water resources.
CLIMATE ACTION
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
The generation and use of energy accounts for 35 % of total greenhouse gas emissions in the world. This activity is the largest contributor to global warming. Investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other low-carbon technologies will continue to be essential to meet the emerging needs of humanity and to minimize their negative impact on the environment.
ACCIONA considers the fight against climate change and its effects to be a strategic priority. The company works to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in order to contribute to the progress of society and respond to the main challenges of sustainable development in the areas of infrastructure, water and energy, leading the transition to a low-carbon economy.
ICARUS will obtain recycled materials that meet the standards to be used in applications in the construction sector. It will be based on material resources that are part of waste from certain extractive and transformation industries such as mining, wastewater treatment, urban waste management and steel production.
Three demonstration cases will be carried out to highlight the value of waste from these industries for the construction sector. Specifically, ACCIONA's WATER business will participate in the demonstration of new technologies for the recovery and recycling of cellulose from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The recovered cellulose fibres can be used, for example, in concrete mixes for slabs and pavements, with significant benefits in the prevention of breakage due to drying shrinkage.
The ICARUS project also involves 16 other entities from 7 European countries. The budget amounts to 10 million euros and is funded by the European Commission (GA101138646) through the Horizon Europe Programme.