Precious water for Beijing
“The country is facing the enormous challenge of how to best use water resources and to close future supply gaps through waste water purification,” says Hans Werner Linne, head of Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S) in China, describing current and future water management efforts in the Middle Kingdom. Around 1.3 billion people in homes, workshops and offices, along with industry and agriculture, need a reliable and economical supply of this precious resource.

The disposal or purification of waste water is just as important as ensuring a supply of water. Due to the scarcity of this liquid resource and the sheer size of the country, China has no alternative but to recycle its water. Sea water desalinization is also high up on the list of priorities. The process is a promising investment, considering the country’s 14,000-kilometer coastline and opportunities to export this technology.

Industry with a future. Experts predict that China’s water purification industry will experience an annual growth rate of 15 percent. “This growth is driven, in part, by rising demands on the infrastructure as well as approaching major events, such as the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and Expo 2010 in Shanghai,” says Roger Radke, head of Water Technologies at Siemens.

The Chinese government expects that cities and urban centers in the People’s Republic will need 800 to 900 new drinking water purification plants by 2010 in order to achieve a three percent increase in annual production of this number one foodstuff. Over the same period, the number of waste water purification plants must more than double from the current 700, which will increase purification capacity by ten percent per year.

Growth in China goes hand in hand with the need for solutions to purify water in cities and industry. Investments in these purification measures are therefore likely to run to four billion euros by 2010
High-tech solutions for clean water. In China, Siemens uses tried-and-tested methods for purifying drinking and waste water. This includes treatment with membrane filters and wet-air oxidation systems, disinfection with chlorine as well as electrode ionization and biological treatment methods.

Siemens works closely together with local partners in China. Tianjin National Water Equipment & Engineering Co, Ltd., a joint venture in which Siemens holds a majority share, manufactures innovative products for water and waste water purification which meet local standards.

Outstanding purification technology. In 2006, Beijing Drainage Group hired Siemens to modernize the Bei Xiaohe waste water treatment plant and supply it with the world’s most advanced membrane filter technology.

Located in the northern part of Beijing, the purification plant went online in 1990 on the occasion of the Asian Games. It currently has a daily processing capacity of 40,000 cubic meters. By 2008, this capacity is expected to rise to 100,000 cubic meters. The plant will then supply pool and service water to the capital’s Olympic Park and other facilities.

Customer proximity pays off. Water purification will be one of the greatest challenges facing the People’s Republic in the years to come. As a result, Siemens China will also make this industry a key focus of its work. A local presence is extremely important to accomplish this goal. “We are currently represented in 42 locations in China,” says I&S CEO Hans Werner Linne. “This puts us in direct proximity to our customers.” Siemens also cooperates with 16 universities and the National Engineering Center for Urban Water and Wastewater. Siemens is in a good position to continue supplying reliable and future-oriented products and solutions for long-term water purification efforts in the Middle Kingdom.