Dow Chemical locates in Tarragona a pioneer equipment to produce drinkable water

La Canonja (ACN).- Dow Chemical has installed in La Canonja the Global Water Technology Development Center, which will accelerate the commercialization of the ultra-filtration and membrane technologies that help produce drinkable water. The Global Water Technology Development Center was funded through a 10 million euro investment, along with subsidies from the Catalan and Spanish Governments. The Spanish Minister for Science and Innovation, Cristina Garmendia, and the Catalan Minister for Territory and Sustainability, Lluís Recoder were present at the opening of the research centre, made last June.

According to Dow Chemical, the centre is a “unique” facility employing experts of the highest level. Jerome Peribere, Excutive Vice President of Dow Chemical, says that this equipment will develop technologies that will offer “cheaper clean water” to the companies. “We passionately want to innovate for the most essential thing in human progress, water” he added.

Research at the center will concentrate especially on improving the quality of desalinated water; minimizing the energy consumption per cubic meter; enlarging the working life of the membranes, which represent a long-term cost for the desalination plants; and increasing the effectiveness of the used materials.

The section of the company that will manage the centre is Dow Water and Process Solutions, world leader in separation and sustainable purification technologies, like reverse osmosis and ion-exchange resins.

During the opening, the Spanish Minister Garmendia thanked DowChemical for choosing Spain to locate a centre of advanced technology. “Events like this remind us that the change of the production models should not be made by replacing traditional sectors, but by rebalancing the production system”. The Spanish Minister for Science and Innovation insisted on giving more relevance to the technologies sector as well as reinforcing creativity and motivating those activities that “make us stronger internationally”.

The Catalan Minister for Territory and Sustainability, Lluís Recoder, also expressed his “satisfaction” at the opening of a leading research and innovation centre in Catalonia. Recoder added that Catalonia could use water as a development factor, either by the use of residual waters to irrigate or by depuration and desalination processes. “These needs have made us wiser, international and innovative”, said the Minister.

The president of Dow Chemical Ibérica, Anton Valero, also took part in the opening ceremony. Valero highlighted that the centre is a continuation of the Dow investment programs in R+D in Spain, which include a Packaging Centre of Excellence in Tarragona and a Technology Center of Polyurethanes Systems in Navarra.

Among those present at the opening were the Mayor of La Canonja, Roc Múñoz, the Mayor of Tarragona, Josep Félix Ballesteros; or Geoffery Merszei, President of Dow Chemical in Europe, Middle West and Africa.

About the centre

The Global Water Technology Development Center will employ 25 water experts. The Spanish Ministry for Industry, Tourism and Commerce, as well as the Catalan Agency of Investments, have granted subsidies to the company for research programs in this area.

The closeness of the center to the Mediterranean sea will make access to water easier, and gives additional options of gaining access to salubrious water, residual water and purified river water.

The center will have a demonstration area with the most modern technology, where clients will be able to see and find out the advanced capacities of Dow Water Solutions in water treatment technologies.