The company seeks to play a more active role in the rapidly evolving water sector in the Middle East region.
GS Inima, based in Madrid, is investing more than 2 percent of its sales in research and development (R&D) projects to promote innovation and align with its environmental, social and governance policy, the general director of the company, Marta Verde.
These projects address key issues in water production, including energy consumption, green energy implementation, and a decrease in brine disposal.
“A net zero objective is a global goal for all sectors”. “The markets expect water as the main resource to be a topic of reference in this matter. For this reason, as a company specialized in the production of water, we need to assume this leadership”.
The CEO envisions implementing hybrid power in future stand-alone water projects throughout the Middle East region as a must.
“This is really significant in our sector and the trend will be to increase its adoption in the future. GS Inima has recently created a new photovoltaic [solar] division, which promotes all kinds of green energy solutions at our existing facilities. This implies that we are including this technology in our current water desalination plants as well as in future projects”.
TECHNOLOGIES AND RATES
Crucially, Marta Verde points out that rate trends pose a market challenge for the water sector.
New technologies such as the combination of green energy, intelligent systems and based on reverse osmosis. Brine concentrators allow desalination plants to reach performance levels never seen before, but they also have a direct impact on rates, explains Marta Verde.
GS Inima is embarked on multiple R&D projects to create these types of efficiencies in its projects. Unlike typical developers, GS Inima participates in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operation and maintenance (O&M) concessions that grant it “a vision and capacity to optimize projects”.
In addition to starting up a photovoltaic division, the firm has invested in computer systems that improve technology to reduce water losses and improve plant operations, which together help reduce energy consumption.
Marta Verde cites a recent milestone achieved at a project in Chile where design optimization helped the desalination plant record energy consumption below the guaranteed 2,8 kilowatt-hours per m3 of water treated.
“In addition, through our sole shareholder GS E&C, we have access to Korean financing.”