2023-08-01 06:40:53
The Save Innovations start-up has developed a turbine capable of producing electricity in complete autonomy, which it has coupled to a sensor module in order to measure several parameters in the water in the pipes. It thus wishes to help network managers better monitor water quality. Interview with the general manager of the company.
Created in 2012, the start-up Save Innovations has developed a tool to implement smart drinking water networks, also known as smart water. It consists of a turbine capable of producing electricity independently as soon as a low flow of water passes through it, as well as a sensor module to measure several parameters in the water. The company wants to help network managers better monitor water quality to meet health standards. It also wants to help preserve water resources by facilitating the detection of leaks, which are responsible for approximately 20% of water volume losses in France. Save innovations is the winner of the I-Nov 2019 competition organized by Ademe and has received the “Seal of Excellence” label issued by the European Commission. Olivier Salasca, managing director of this start-up, tells us regarding the technology developed, regarding to be industrialized.
Engineering Techniques: Why is it important to monitor drinking water networks?
Olivier Salasca, managing director of Save innovations. Credit: Save innovations
Olivier Salasca: In 2020, the European Commission published an overhaul of the Water Framework Directive which encourages countries to be more preventive in the management of health risks. France also requires network managers to limit leaks in their pipes. It is important to map the networks using sensors to understand on a physico-chemical level what is happening in the water in order to prevent any risk of pollution. For example, the presence of a leak can cause material to enter the network. Sudden accelerations in flow rates can also cause matter to be resuspended in the water. Also in some places, water can stagnate and bacteria can grow. Today, faced with these risks, network managers tend to inject too large quantities of chlorine into the network. This way of proceeding is not in the right direction, both for the health of consumers, the taste of water and the environment.
Faced with this situation, what technology do you offer?
The integrated system developed by Save innovation combines a turbine to produce energy with a module of water quality analysis sensors. Credit: Save innovations
We have developed a turbine that you submerge in water, and when the water passes through, it spins blades, which in turn spin a rotor made of magnets. On each side of these magnets, are placed copper circuits to create an alternator, and it is designed in such a way that there is no magnetic brake at low speeds of rotation of the blades. Thanks to the magnetic design of this alternator that we have developed, we manage to produce energy as soon as the water flows at a speed of one m3 per hour. This performance is also linked to the fact that the turbine is totally submerged in water and that there is no transmission shaft going from the propellers to the alternator, which is itself in the water. This first technology constitutes the energy brick of our tool. Then, we developed a module to measure seven physico-chemical water parameters recommended by the European Commission, which are flow, pressure, pH, chlorine, temperature, conductivity, and turbidity.
What are the advantages of your process?
Our tool is very easy to install in existing or new drinking water pipes, just remove a 40 cm piece of pipe to replace it with our smart pipe, which produces energy and takes measurements. Our system modifies the network pressure very little, since its impact is less than 0.1 bar. Regarding the transmission of measurements, they are mainly sent to network managers by GSM 3G and 4G, but it is also possible to do so by Wi-Fi or radio waves, depending on customer requests.
To map a drinking water network, it is necessary to install many sensors, approximately one every 5 to 6 km of pipe. The key to deploying them on a large scale is energy autonomy. It is not possible to supply them with electric current, as this would require excessive road works. Those that operate on batteries have their limits, because the batteries must be replaced regularly. As a result, most transmit data every 48 hours, in order to avoid replacing them too frequently, but this does not make it possible to detect an anomaly on the network in real time. Our system is completely energy self-sufficient with a lifespan of 10 years, and transmits data every minute. An important point concerns the maintenance of these sensors. We have developed our own water parameter analysis system and achieved stability and durability of measurements. As a result, there is no need to calibrate them before six months, and we are aiming for one or two calibrations per year.
Finally, since our tool is installed in the pipes, it must not degrade the quality of the water. No material unsuitable for drinking water consumption should be used, which greatly limits the choices and constitutes a real barrier to the development of such technology. Our tool is made using specific polymers and ceramics, and all bearing parts work without any lubricants. We have thus succeeded in obtaining ACS certification (Accreditation of health compliance).
How do you identify leaks?
We cannot identify them precisely, but our system makes it easy to locate them. The networks are already divided into sectors, and the managers analyze the volumes of water entering and those leaving through household consumption, and thus manage to detect leaks by calculating the difference. Since our sensors cover the network more finely and are equipped with flow meters, we help to better locate leaks, since the area to be monitored is smaller. In addition, at night, there is almost no water consumption, and our sensors help identify abnormal flows.
What stage is your project at?
Our turbine, which produces electricity, has already been installed for 6 years in France and neighboring countries with drinking water network managers. It allowed them to supply their own water quality analysis sensors. Our sensor module was developed as a second step and all the drivers we developed were tested and validated in the field. We are currently in an industrialization phase of our integrated system, that is to say the turbine coupled to our sensor module, and we are beginning to deploy it in France and internationally. We are already working with Suez and Véolia and we already have first orders in the Rhône-Alpes region and in Switzerland.
1690876005
#energyautonomous #tool #drinking #water #networks #smart