HASKONING NEDERLAND BV

Their core work

Haskoning Nederland (part of Royal HaskoningDHV) is a major Dutch engineering and consultancy firm specializing in water management, environmental engineering, and sustainable resource use. In H2020, they contribute applied engineering expertise to projects focused on agricultural water quality, nutrient retention in catchments, and circular economy approaches to urban wastewater treatment. Their role bridges the gap between scientific research and real-world implementation — turning water and resource recovery concepts into workable engineering solutions for municipalities, water utilities, and agricultural regions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their earliest involvement (2015) was in sustainability and spatial planning through SUSPLACE, a training-oriented network. From 2017 onward, their focus sharpened decisively toward water — first agricultural water quality (FAirWAY), then expanding into circular water systems, resource recovery, and catchment-scale optimization (OPTAIN, WATER-MINING). The trajectory shows a clear move from broad sustainability consulting into specialized water-cycle engineering with a circular economy lens.

Haskoning is deepening its position in circular water management — expect future work combining agricultural water retention with urban wastewater resource recovery at regional scale.

How they like to work

Haskoning consistently joins as a participant or partner rather than leading consortia — a pattern typical of large engineering firms that contribute domain expertise and implementation capacity rather than driving the research agenda. Despite only 4 projects, they have connected with 93 partners across 26 countries, indicating they join large, well-funded consortia where their engineering know-how complements academic and public-sector partners. They are a reliable contributing partner, not a project initiator.

With 93 unique consortium partners spread across 26 countries from just 4 projects, Haskoning operates within large pan-European consortia. Their network is heavily weighted toward water research institutions, agricultural bodies, and environmental agencies across the EU.

What sets them apart

Haskoning brings something most academic consortium partners lack: decades of real-world engineering and consultancy experience in water infrastructure. They can translate research outputs into implementable designs for water utilities and municipalities. For consortium builders, they are the partner that ensures project results don't stay on paper — they know how to engineer, permit, and deliver water systems at scale.

Highlights from their portfolio

• WATER-MINING
  Large-scale demonstration project for circular economy in water — covers desalination, resource recovery (phosphorus, bio-polymers, critical raw materials), and service-based business models.
• OPTAIN
  Long-running project (2020-2026) applying multi-objective optimization to water and nutrient retention across European agricultural catchments — their most recent and longest commitment.
• FAirWAY
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 188,750) — directly connecting farm systems to drinking water quality, a topic with immediate policy relevance.