SMART.MET - Final conference (online) - 14 December 2021

online

Achievements and challenges of a trans-national Pre-Commercial Public Procurement to develop innovative water smart-meters for the benefit of users and the environment

14 December 2021
Final conference 10:00 –  12:30
Technological fair 15:00 – 16:30

European water utilities are confronted with multiple challenges: increasing water scarcity and extreme weather events, ageing infrastructure, growing affordability concerns, to name just a few. Through real-time continuous control of flows in the water network, smart water meters can help water utilities improve the management of water resources for the benefit of both users and nature (e.g. fast detection of leakage, improvement of customer service, prioritisation of investments-). However, existing solutions for smart metering still present several technological limitations. Regulatory barriers and market fragmentation are then limiting the incentives for innovative companies to develop better solutions.

Led by a group of seven public water utilities, the SMART.MET research project has been funded by the EU Horizon2020 programme with the objective of driving the development of innovative and better-performing solutions for smart meters, through the launch of a joint trans-national Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP).

The SMART.MET final conference will be the opportunity to learn more about the technological innovations that have been developed in the framework of the project, as well as to discuss the implication of the PCP approach to stimulate innovation in the water sector. The partners of the consortium will discuss the outcomes of the project with representatives of European institutions, regulators, and other stakeholders.

The conference will be followed in the afternoon by a technological fair. Water utilities and experts will have the chance to explore - more in-depth and from a technical perspective - the potentialities of the new solutions by dialoguing directly with the companies that developed the innovative smart meters, as well as the representatives from water utilities that have tested the solutions on the field.

REGISTER

AGENDA

Part I from 10:00 to 12:30

10:00-10:15    Welcome & Introductory remarks Welcome & Introductory remarks 
                              -  Eric Mino, Head of the service, Office International de l’Eau (OiEau)
                              -  Jose-Luis Fernandez-Villacañas Martin, Scientific Project Officer, ‘Technologies for Smart Communities’ Unit,                                    DG CONNECT, European Commission

10:15-10:30     Setting the scene: Digital water and the twin transition – Andrea Halmos, Policy Officer ‘Technologies for Smart                                  Communities’ Unit, DG CONNECT, European Commission

10:30-11:10     Why is innovation needed in the field of smart water meters? Objectives, methodology and results of SMART.MET
                           
                            -    Diego Macchiella, SMART MET lead procurer, Secretary-General, Viveracqua (Italy)
                            -    Bernard Michaux, Chief Operating Officer, Compagnie Intercommunale Liégeoise des Eaux (Belgium)
                            -    Sara Bedin, Independent Expert Innovation Policies & Procurement

                           Questions & Answers

11:10-11:20        e-Break

11:20-12:20        Session: What’s next? Creating the right framework to harnessing the potential of digitalization

                            -    Daphne Voss, Senior Water Engineer, Water Advisory Division - JASPERS, European Investment Bank
                            -    Elena Gallo, Vice-Director of the Water Directorate, Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and                                             Environment
                            -    Mercedes Mira Costa, Project Manager - Standardization & Digital Solutions, CEN-CENELEC

                           Moderated by Nuria Hernández-Mora, Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua (FNCA)

                           Panel discussion

12:20 – 12:30     Closing Remarks
                              -  Eric Mino, Head of the service, Office International de l’Eau (OiEau)

***

Part II –Technological Fair from 15:00 to 16:30

15:00-15:20        Introduction: objectives, challenges, and results of the SMART.MET 
                           Diego Macchiella, SMART MET lead procure,  Secretary-General, Viveracqua (Italy) and Pierre-Henri Bouhet,                                 Office International de l’Eau (OiEau)

15:20-15:35        Solution 1 – Vendor - Telereading (Italy)

15:35-15:50        Solution 2 – Vendor - Hydroko (Belgium)

15:50-16:20        Structured discussion with technical representatives from prototypes field testing:

  • Mattia Celotto, Viveracqua (Veneto, Italy)
  • Bernard Michaux, Compagnie Intercommunale Liégeoise des Eaux (Liège, Belgium)
  • Florian SIMONIN, Syndicat Des Eaux Et De L'assainissement Alsace-Moselle (Alsace-Moselle, France)
  • Márton Bor, Budapest Waterworks (Budapest, Hungary)
  • Ángel Pulido, PROMEDIO (Badajoz, Spain)

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