Aquaporin has successfully completed the Living Lab Project to develop the world's first biomimetic low-energy Aquaporin Inside® CLEAR membrane at demonstration scale. The membranes were installed at the Kranji NEWater Factory (KNF), operated by PUB, Singapore's National Water Agency. After 12 months of continuous operation benchmarked against parallel concurrently operated trains with other commercial membranes, the Aquaporin Inside® CLEAR biomimetic membranes have achieved up to 20% energy savings for the energy-intensive reverse osmosis treatment stage, while consistently meeting the stringent water quality standards of NEWater. The demonstration project marks a major step forward in the potential use of biomimetic membrane technology for the NEWater treatment process in Singapore.

Dr. Gurdev Singh, PUB's Chief Engineering & Technology Officer, commented, "At PUB, we recognize that the future of water management lies in meaningful collaborations. We actively seek to partner with industry players who share our vision of innovation and sustainability. By working hand-in-hand from the early stages of planning and conceptualization, to the deployment of innovative technologies, we can transform promising ideas into robust solutions that serve Singapore's water needs whilst creating opportunities for growth in the water sector."

Klaus Juhl Wulff, CFO of Aquaporin and CEO of Aquaporin Asia, added: "We are really proud of our work in the Living Lab Project. Achieving energy savings of this magnitude, while maintaining consistent water quality during the NEWater treatment process, underscores the real-world application and positive impact of our biomimetic technology. PUB has been an exceptional partner, and this outcome is a testament to what we can accomplish together through a shared vision."

A strong collaboration to build upon

The successful collaboration between Aquaporin and PUB was driven by hands-on involvement from concept to deployment, open communication, and rapid responses to operational needs. This direct and ongoing interaction played a central role in ensuring smooth execution from the beginning of the project, which provided continuous learning and optimization.

Xuan Tung Nguyen, Head of Commercial Engineering at Aquaporin Asia, has been a part of the project from day one.

"It has been a great experience working closely with the PUB on this project. Seeing our technology delivering real energy savings in a demonstration scale setting is a proud moment for the team. The strong partnership and hands-on collaboration made a big difference, and we are excited about what this means for the future of sustainable water treatment," explains Xuan Tung Nguyen.

As part of the demonstration project, a Resilience Study was also conducted, accelerating membrane stress conditions to simulate up to five years of operational use. This provided evidence that the Aquaporin Inside® CLEAR membranes can achieve their expected operational lifespan.

The Aquaporin CLEAR membranes will continue to be operated and monitored at KNF, while delivering NEWater standard permeate into PUB's distribution network. Following this successful 12-month demonstration, Aquaporin will work with PUB to explore further collaboration opportunities to expand the use of low-energy membranes to other NEWater factories.

About Aquaporin

Aquaporin is an innovative water technology company with operations in Denmark (HQ), Singapore, Turkey, the United States, and China. We are committed to rethinking water filtration with biotechnology to solve global water challenges. By combining three disciplines from the world of natural sciences: biology, chemistry, and physics, we have created the unique, nature-inspired Aquaporin Inside® technology which we embed into all our membranes and solutions. Our technology is based on Nobel Prize-winning research and is used to clean and reuse water in industries, in our homes, and even by NASA and ESA in space. We work with customers and partners around the globe to responsibly treat industrial wastewater, concentrate food and beverage products in a natural way, and enhance drinking water quality and accessibility.