PUBLIC PROCUREMENT NEWS

  

News

28 October 2015

Austrian wastewater recycling system wins prize for most innovative procurement in Europe

The procurement of a machine that vaporises waste-water to remove waste particles saw the Federal Procurement Agency of Austria awarded the Public Procurement of Innovation Award at a ceremony in Paris (France) last night. The Federal Procurement Agency received a trophy for innovation procurement excellence, together with the title “European innovation procurement of the year”. They will also have a case study published on the Procurement of Innovation Platform in the coming weeks.

Four other finalists from across Europe were also in competition for the award (more information on each finalist is available on the PPI Platform website). “The quality of each of the finalists meant that choosing the overall winner was very difficult. It was an exceptionally close competition,” said Mark Hidson, Deputy Regional Director at ICLEI Europe and jury member. “We felt that the procurement of the vaporising system best showcased the impressive work being carried out, as well as the type of solution that public procurement of innovation can achieve. The procurement brought together the institutional knowledge of public procurers with the ingenuity of the private sector.”

The innovative solution is used by the Austrian mint to clean water contaminated during the production of coins and notes. Vaporisation of the waste-water takes place in a vacuum, allowing for fresh water and waste particles to be separated. Once the filtering process is complete, 97 percent of the water can be reused. The ceremony was held as part of the European Assistance for Innovation Procurement event, organised by EAFIP.

For more information, visit the PPI Platform.