PA: University Park Penn State's research into sustainable water solutions will be aided by a new master agreement with ENOWA, a business tasked with inventing sustainable energy and water solutions. The agreement could result in an investment of up to $6 million in the creation of urgently required zero-waste water technologies. With five initial initiatives focusing on desalinating water, recovering rare earth minerals and metals from water and brine, and reducing water line strain and water loss, the agreement provides funding for up to 15 projects. Testing will follow the study at Penn State and take place in the ENOWA Water Innovation Center. According to Lora Weiss, senior vice president for research at Penn State, "this agreement offers the opportunity for Penn State researchers, through their collaborative and interdisciplinary research strengths, to make significant contributions to the water needs of society. Additionally, the discoveries and solutions resulting from this research "could have profound and paradigm-shifting effects on global water needs." Due to his extensive body of work in the fields of water and energy, Bruce Logan, head of the Institutes of Energy and the Environment at Penn State, played a significant role in the agreement. Logan, who is also an Evan Pugh University Professor and Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, said: "I am so pleased that a trailblazing organization like ENOWA sees value in Penn State's research innovations and potential for addressing water needs and solutions. An agreement like this serves as a concrete declaration of ENOWA's belief in Penn State researchers and the scientific and engineering solutions they produce.
Four of the seven Penn State researchers are co-funded faculty members of the Institutes of Energy and the Environment. They are all from the College of Engineering and the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. They are Cliff Lissenden, professor in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics; Hee Jeung Oh, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering; Christopher Arges, associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering; Christopher Gorski, associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Derek Hall, assistant research professor in the John and Willie Leone Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering; and Logan. Gavin Van Tonder, executive director of water at ENOWA, said, "This is another important milestone for ENOWA as we continue to invest in and develop world-class renewable utilities infrastructure." " We are excited to collaborate with one of the best universities in the world for water research to transform and realize sustainable opportunities in the water sector. This improves our technological portfolio and advances efforts to manage water resources sustainably on a global scale. On Thursday, April 13, Professor Bruce Logan and Gavin van Tonder attended a signing session in Boston as part of the Discover NEOM tour. ENOWA, the energy and water corporation for NEOM, will debut in March 2022. The company benefits from NEOM's greenfield position and strategic setting in Saudi Arabia's northwest, which is rich in solar and wind resources. ENOWA aims to become a global benchmark for industry leaders and create a standard for sustainable economic circular systems globally by serving as an incubator for new, sustainable energy and water solutions.