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water The new Innovation Centre at the Salamanca WWTP will develop national and international projects for the generation of renewable hydrogen, biomethane and other bioproducts from biowaste Salamanca, at the forefront in promoting safe, efficient and clean energy biomethane from biowaste, in which eight companies and ten universities and research centres are involved; and the European project Rewaise of the European H2020 call, in which twenty-five entities from eleven Eu - ropean countries participate, main - ly water management companies, universities and research centres. This initiative connects a network of laboratories to demonstrate innova - tive technologies and new operatio - nal strategies, removing obstacles to new value chains that drive the circular economy model, and deve - loping digital tools in a smart society approach around water. A reference centre The centre will coordinate activi - ties of international, national and regional scope, as is the case of the initiatives being developed in Ávila, Guijuelo, Medina del Campo and Íscar, in Castilla y León. The treatment plant facilities have an international interdisciplinary team capable of validating the aforemen - tioned technologies. The actions to be carried out inclu - de, on the one hand, those related to the treatment and management of water for human consumption. In this area, it is worth highlighting the monitoring and management of re- servoirs that have been implemen - ted in reservoirs such as Fuentes- claras, in Ávila. With regard to the drinking water treatment process, it is worth mentioning the tests ca- rried out with advanced sensors that measure chlorine concentra - tions in the Salamanca DWTP. In terms of distribution and leak detec - tion, it is worth noting that the city of Salamanca was a pioneer in the intelligent management of networks with the active pressure manage- ment system implemented a few years ago. In terms of sanitation and treat- ment, the monitoring of the network and the improvement in the efficien - cy of the processes, which reduce the plant’s energy consumption; the joint digestion process of slu - dge generated in the facilities with other bio-waste from local indus - tries, which allows the production of biogas, and in parallel, progress in the production of green hydrogen. Alternative energy sources such as photovoltaic panels have also been incorporated into the plant; work will also be done on generating bioferti - lisers for agricultural use and obtai - ning bioproducts for application in other industries. All these solutions extract the true value of water and lead to the de - carbonisation of its cycle. With the launch of the Innovation Centre, Aqualia reiterates its commitment to the city of Salamanca and its environment, by promoting inno - vative and sustainable solutions to the challenges posed by the inte - gral water cycle. The Mayor of Salamanca, Carlos García Carbayo, together with Juan Carlos Rey Fraile, Aqualia’s Area Manager, unveiling the inauguration plaque of the Centre. B U S I N E S S B U S I N E S S 19