NIJHUIS WATER TECHNOLOGY BV

Their core work

Nijhuis Water Technology is a Dutch SME specializing in industrial and municipal water treatment systems. Their H2020 work focuses on advanced wastewater treatment — from nutrient and resource recovery from organic waste streams to electrochemical oxidation of priority pollutants and membrane-based zero liquid discharge systems. They bring practical water engineering capabilities to research consortia, contributing to demonstration-scale plants and intelligent water treatment solutions that combine purification with energy production.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Nijhuis started their H2020 participation in 2017 with SYSTEMIC, focused on recovering value from organic waste — nutrients, biogas, biochemicals — in a biobased industries context. By 2019-2020, they shifted toward more advanced treatment technologies: electrochemical oxidation of difficult pollutants (InnovEOX) and intelligent membrane-based systems with energy co-production (intelWATT). The trajectory shows a clear move from resource recovery toward high-tech, energy-positive water treatment with circular economy ambitions.

Nijhuis is moving toward intelligent, energy-positive water treatment systems that combine purification with resource and energy recovery — positioning them for the growing market in circular water management.

How they like to work

Nijhuis participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator, suggesting they contribute specialized water technology expertise rather than leading project management. With 43 unique partners across 11 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in large consortia (averaging ~14 partners per project). This pattern is typical of an industry SME that brings real-world engineering capability and demonstration infrastructure to research-driven projects.

Despite only three projects, Nijhuis has built a broad network of 43 partners across 11 countries, reflecting their participation in large Innovation Action and MSCA consortia. Their network spans multiple European countries, though as a Dutch company based in Doetinchem, their connections likely cluster in Western and Northern Europe.

What sets them apart

Nijhuis stands out as a water technology SME that bridges the gap between laboratory research and industrial-scale deployment. Their project portfolio spans the full water treatment value chain — from waste valorisation to pollutant degradation to energy-positive membrane systems. For consortium builders, they offer what many academic partners cannot: practical engineering experience in designing, building, and operating water treatment plants at demonstration and commercial scale.

Highlights from their portfolio

• intelWATT
  Their largest project (EUR 700k) combining membrane technology with energy production via reverse electrodialysis — represents their most advanced and well-funded contribution.
• SYSTEMIC
  Large-scale demonstration project for circular economy in organic waste — positioned Nijhuis in the biobased industries ecosystem with nutrient recovery at industrial scale.
• InnovEOX
  MSCA training network signals Nijhuis invests in next-generation talent and emerging electrochemical treatment methods, unusual for a private SME.