Pilot with innovative data-driven maintenance at Hengelo wastewater treatment plant
Vechtstromen and the technology company New Current conducted a pilot with data-driven maintenance at the Hengelo wastewater treatment plant. Sensors were used to collect data, which was then analysed using a mathematical model to predict maintenance needs for the machinery. This technology allows machine failures to be detected weeks or even months in advance, improving reliability and preventing unnecessary work and costs. Following the success of this pilot, the decision has been made to implement the technology on a broader scale.
Smart maintenance
Reliable machine operation is essential for wastewater treatment, as malfunctions can cause significant issues. Traditional maintenance schedules for the treatment plant's machinery are often ineffective—maintenance may be performed too early or, in some cases, too late.
Amersfoort-based tech start-up New Current developed a system that uses sensors and smart algorithms to predict when a machine requires maintenance. This approach enables maintenance to be performed just in time, based on the machine's condition rather than a fixed schedule. The result is greater reliability and the elimination of unnecessary work and costs. In collaboration with the Vechtstromen water authority, this innovative system was tested at the Hengelo wastewater treatment plant.
It works!
For the pilot, the water authority selected eight critical components of the wastewater treatment plant, including aerators and pumps. To make the test especially challenging, the authority skipped maintenance on one sludge pump. Although everything initially seemed to function well, New Current's system detected and alerted about increasing wear in time. A few weeks later, the pump did indeed fail.
The test demonstrated that predictive maintenance is feasible—not too early, not too late, and not unnecessary. In this case, New Current's system could have prevented 52 hours of downtime.
Following the successful pilot project, Vechtstromen decided to implement the technology in other parts of its wastewater treatment plants. The system has already been used to make new predictions, such as scheduling maintenance for the gears of another sludge pump and correcting alignment errors in the blowers.
Cost and energy savings
The data-driven maintenance approach focuses not only on maintenance needs but also on the energy consumption of the machines. This makes it possible to identify the most efficient machines. For the eight machines in Hengelo, this knowledge translates into an annual energy savings of 60 MWh, equivalent to the energy use of 24 households and a reduction of 16.3 tons of CO₂ emissions.
The collaboration in this pilot is a prime example of co-innovation, where the water authority's expertise in installations was combined with New Current's advanced technology. Vechtstromen Water Authority has maintained an innovation fund for several years, enabling joint investments with companies in new technologies and solutions. This fund also made the pilot project possible.
