LENNTECH BV

Their core work

Lenntech is a Dutch water treatment and purification technology company specializing in separation processes, brine management, and resource recovery from industrial and municipal water streams. They bring practical engineering expertise in membrane filtration, desalination, and mineral extraction to large-scale EU demonstration projects. Their work bridges water treatment with circular economy goals — recovering valuable materials like salts, magnesium, phosphorus, and critical raw materials from wastewater and brine effluents rather than treating them as waste.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Lenntech's H2020 journey started in 2017 with a clear water-sector focus: brine treatment, salt and magnesium recovery, and industrial symbiosis (ZERO BRINE). By 2019-2020, they expanded in two directions — scaling up to urban wastewater and desalination systems (WATER-MINING) while simultaneously applying their separation know-how to bio-based chemical purification (IMPRESS). The shift shows a company deliberately broadening from niche industrial brine treatment toward larger-scale water systems and cross-sector applications in the bioeconomy.

Lenntech is expanding from pure water treatment into circular resource recovery across sectors, making them increasingly relevant for projects combining water, energy, and bioeconomy challenges.

How they like to work

Lenntech participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a technology provider bringing specific industrial expertise to larger consortia. With 71 unique partners across 18 countries in just 3 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia (averaging ~24 partners per project). This suggests they are comfortable in complex multi-partner environments and valued for their specialized contribution rather than project management.

Despite only 3 projects, Lenntech has built connections with 71 partners across 18 countries — a remarkably wide network driven by participation in large-scale Innovation Action consortia. Their reach spans most of the EU, with no apparent geographic concentration beyond their Dutch base.

What sets them apart

Lenntech stands out as a commercially active water technology SME that actually sells and installs treatment systems — not a research lab. This means they bring market-tested engineering to EU projects, not just theoretical knowledge. Their unusual combination of water purification expertise with downstream bio-chemical separation (IMPRESS) positions them at the intersection of water and bioeconomy — a niche few companies occupy.

Highlights from their portfolio

• IMPRESS
  Their largest single grant (EUR 1M) and a strategic pivot — applying water separation expertise to bio-refinery purification of sugars, lignin, and green chemicals.
• WATER-MINING
  Large-scale demonstration of next-generation water management with circular economy focus, covering desalination, phosphorus recovery, and service-based business models.
• ZERO BRINE
  Their first H2020 project, directly aligned with their core commercial business in brine treatment and mineral recovery from industrial effluents.