b'Advancing the CircularEconomy in the Water Sector CASE STUDY 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 worlds 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 Europeunderstanding of how operational conditions and NBIC Industrial Advisory Board member said, influence N 2 O emissions in fixed-film systems and identifying strategies for mitigation. It represents an Thanks to support from NBIC, we are involvedimportant step towards achieving net zero emissions in a really interesting, globally leading projectin the water sector, which currently accounts for on the topic of greenhouse gas emissions. Thisapproximately 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions.project is largely about collaboration between academia and industry; supported by several UKIn May 2025, Jacobs technologies played a pivotal role in water utilities, universities and consultancies. three award-winning water innovation projects selected by Ofwats fifth Water Breakthrough Challenge. The The project is focused on understanding and mitigatingPyroPlas initiative was awarded 11.1m and transforms nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions from trickling filters,wastewater sludge into sustainable aviation and marine a widely used biofilm-based treatment technology.fuels using Jacobs patented Dune low-energy drying Newcastle University and Royal HaskoningDHV, alongtechnology, pyrolysis and non-thermal plasma. with Northumbrian Water, has brought together a team of leading experts from Cranfield University, MottThe Next-Gen Digestion project was awarded 5.7m MacDonald, Jacobs, and Farmiloe Fisher, to launch theand applies microbial hydrolysis at full scale to boost project at the EPSRC-funded BEWISe plant, which isbiogas yields. The Metagenomics: Making Microbes the largest wastewater innovation facility of its typeMatter project received 1.4m and uses molecular in Europe. Funding has been provided by 7 of theanalytics to enhance treatment performance and UK water companies (Northumbrian Water, Scottishcut nitrous oxide emissions. Amanda Lake said, Water, United Utilities, Yorkshire Water, Southern Water, Dwr Cymru and Anglian Water) as well as NBIC.With the right partnerships and continued research, we are moving closer to a truly circular, low-This initiative is bridging a crucial gap betweenemissions water sector. The support provided by academia and industry, enabling a betterNBIC is essential in helping us realise this vision.Amanda Lake, Head of Carbon and Circular Economy for Europe at JacobsAmanda is a chartered chemical engineer with 23 years global experience in wastewater treatment. Recognised for expertise in greenhouse gas emissions, she leads international projects and contributes to climate action efforts. A committed volunteer and DEI advocate, she supports STEAM initiatives and was named a 2024 Top 50 Woman in Engineering and 2025 Princeton Field Lecturer.18 18'