Advancing the Circular Economy in the Water Sector

Biofilms play a fundamental role in nutrient removal, wastewater treatment, and the potential reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Their contribution to environmental sustainability and the circular economy is significant, yet remains underexplored.

Jacobs is a global solutions provider with approximately 60,000 employees worldwide, committed to tackling the world’s most pressing challenges. Through its OneWater approach, Jacobs treats all water as a resource, developing integrated solutions that promote sustainability, resilience, and circularity.

Amanda Lake, Head of Carbon and Circular Economy for Europe and NBIC Industrial Advisory Board member said,

“Thanks to support from NBIC, we are involved in a really interesting, globally leading project on the topic of greenhouse gas emissions. This project is largely about collaboration between academia and industry; supported by several UK water utilities, universities and consultancies”.

Circular Economy in the Water Sector

The project is focused on understanding and mitigating nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from trickling filters, a widely used biofilm-based treatment technology. Newcastle University and Royal HaskoningDHV, along with Northumbrian Water, has brought together a team of leading experts from Cranfield University, Mott MacDonald, Jacobs, and Farmiloe Fisher, to launch the project at the EPSRC-funded BEWISe plant, which is the largest wastewater innovation facility of its type in Europe. Funding has been provided by 7 of the UK water companies (Northumbrian Water, Scottish Water, United Utilities, Yorkshire Water, Southern Water, Dwr Cymru and Anglian Water) as well as NBIC.

This initiative is bridging a crucial gap between academia and industry, enabling a better understanding of how operational conditions influence N2O emissions in fixed-film systems and identifying strategies for mitigation. It represents an important step towards achieving net zero emissions in the water sector, which currently accounts for approximately 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

In May 2025, Jacobs’ technologies played a pivotal role in three award‑winning water innovation projects selected by Ofwat’s fifth Water Breakthrough Challenge. The PyroPlas initiative was awarded £11.1m and transforms wastewater sludge into sustainable aviation and marine fuels using Jacobs’ patented Dune low-energy drying technology, pyrolysis and non‑thermal plasma.

The Next‑Gen Digestion project was awarded £5.7m and applies microbial hydrolysis at full scale to boost biogas yields. The Metagenomics: Making Microbes Matter project received £1.4m and uses molecular analytics to enhance treatment performance and cut nitrous oxide emissions.

Amanda Lake said,

“With the right partnerships and continued research, we are moving closer to a truly circular, low-emissions water sector. The support provided by NBIC is essential in helping us realise this vision”.