REGULATED INFORMATION – INSIDE INFORMATION
Tielt (Belgium), 8 June, 7:00 p.m. CEST – Ekopak (EKOP:xbru), an ESG-driven company that markets grid-independent water solutions, will take a plot of land under concession in the NextGen District in Antwerp. It plans to build a sustainable water plant there that will be operational by 2025.
Last year, Ekopak applied to take a two-hectare plot in the NextGen District (the former Opel site) into concession. The application has now been selected and the concession agreement has been signed with Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Ekopak will build a water factory of the future here, including a high-tech water treatment plant. The new water plant is also an important milestone for Waterkracht, the joint venture of Ekopak, water-link, and PMV. (www.water-kracht.be)
Ekopak plant will serve 2 purposes
On the one hand, the new water treatment plant will provide surrounding companies with high-quality and sustainable process water. This includes the recovery and filtration of wastewater as well as the catchment and conditioning of rainwater. With this decentralised approach, Ekopak will give the NextGen District the opportunity to be responsible for its own water supply.
On the other hand, the water treatment plant plays an important role in Waterkracht, a project in which the wastewater from Antwerp households will be upgraded to cooling water for the port as from 2025 onwards. Ekopak will further upgrade the supplied treated wastewater at the plant. A total of 20 billion liters of water per year will be reprocessed. Waterkracht is a joint venture between Ekopak, water-link, and PMV. The signed concession is an important step for the joint venture.
“We are going to build a circular water management plant with Ekopak technology in the NextGen District. This will be the model of the future for any industrial estate. We are very enthusiastic about this project, which we consider an important milestone in the development and implementation of grid-independent water solutions.”
— Pieter Loose, CEO Ekopak
Copyright: Dean Roger; Foto: Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO Port of Antwerp-Bruges and Pieter Loose, CEO Ekopak
“Circularity in action, that’s Waterkracht. With the concession in hand, the project becomes tangible. From 2025 onwards, we will supply large volumes of sustainable cooling water to industrial customers in the port.”
— Franky Cosaert, CEO water-link
Discussions with potential customers are at an advanced stage, but no adequate estimate of turnover and related investments can be made at this time since the guaranteed sales volumes have not yet been determined.
Taking into account the application for the required permits and the construction of the plant, Ekopak expects to have the plant fully operational in 2025.
About the NextGen District
The new NextGen District – on the former Opel site – is a hotspot brimming with innovation and creative ESG entrepreneurship. It’s a centre for the ‘next generation’ of companies that will challenge the status quo and strive for a world without climate change. It’s also the ideal location for the water factory of the future, which fits perfectly within the Port of Antwerp-Bruges’s vision to develop a sustainable port that is climate neutral by 2050.
For more information, please visit Nextgen District and Climate port of Antwerp-Bruges
About Ekopak
Ekopak is an ESG-driven company that markets circular water solutions. Ekopak’s solutions offer industrial customers the opportunity to significantly reduce their water consumption from the water mains network in a sustainable, dependable, and cost-effective manner. Ekopak therefore focuses on optimising water consumption with container water treatment units that convert off-grid water sources, such as rainwater, surface water, and/or wastewater into cleaner water that can be used and reused in clients’ industrial processes. All Ekopak shares are listed on Euronext Brussels (ticker EKOP).
For more information about Ekopak, please visit www.ekopaksustainablewater.com