New business models
We are always looking ahead. That is why TAUW’s product portfolio continually adapts to a changing environment. As long as the quality of the living and the working environment can be improved, TAUW will continue to work towards this goal with driven professionals who are proud of the sustainable solutions they create.
Subsidiaries
Syntraal is an independently operating business company of TAUW. Syntraal focuses on interim issues in the government, the business community and the start-up world. This allows its clients to optimally design projects, innovations and program transitions. Syntraal has thus positioned itself clearly and visibly in the market. The synergy between the client and the professional’s personal talent is its central focus.
One of those companies is Amfius which is a project developer for the realization of projects in which local (residual) heat is used as a replacement for natural gas. Amfius uses source to heat and cool public facilities such as swimming pools, schools and care complexes. Where it is not feasible or possible for parties to invest themselves in these types of projects, Amfius can support in finding alternative financing solutions. As TAUW and Syntraal, we believe in this multi-faceted, innovative design.
Seizing opportunities in the energy transition with Amfius
In Wezep (the Netherlands), the De Veldkamp swimming pool is heated with residual heat from the nearby factory of potato producer CêlaVíta. This technique is called riothermie.
Our feasibility study showed that there was a great deal of potential to extract heat from the wastewater of CêlaVíta by means of riothermie. Using that heat it is currently possible to heat the swimming pool without gas. For this, a 650-meter-long sewer pipe had to be constructed. Because there were no interested investment parties, Syntraal and the operator of the swimming pool jointly invested 350,000 euros to supply heat to the swimming pool for the next twenty years. The annual saving amounts to 230,000 m3 of gas, which results in 410 tons less CO2 emissions. This is equivalent to the CO2 emissions of 58 households. In 2020 we optimised this technique.
Heat from wastewater is still too often ‘forgotten’, while it has enormous potential and can be used in numerous locations. Syntraal and Amfius have now heated several public facilities in the Netherlands without gas. Our objective is to heat 100 locations via riothermie over the next five years, contributing to a sustainable, natural gas-free society.
Digital transformation
We make the world a better place through the smart use of data. In 2020, we continued to heavily invest in digital transformation by supporting our businesses across Europe through a clear programmatic approach and by exploring new opportunities to innovate
Virtual Reality Engineering
TAUW has employed Tygron in various projects to quickly and accurately provide insight into various geographic issues and discover connections between multiple variables. TAUW also works considerably with virtual data using Virtual Reality Engineering for major projects to better experience technical designs. We use Virtual Reality (VR) to gain a different viewpoint of our designs. Our designers and consultants can create new worlds through the placement of 3D objects, which we explore with our VR headsets – experiencing, looking at them from different angles and further refining them. VR tools provide great added value for ourselves, our clients and public space users. It also offers good opportunities to experience those designs together, at a distance from each other, which has proven very useful while working mostly from home. With Virtual Reality Engineering, TAUW is taking a major step forward in experiencing designs and remote collaboration.
Data management for monitoring Houtribdijk
The Houtribdijk, a dyke in The Netherlands between Lelystad and Enkhuizen, is partially reinforced with sand on both sides over a length of 25 kilometres. A sandy dyke improvement in a large lake without a tide is a new design, which is the reason the Rijkswaterstaat (executive agency of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management) has set up a research and monitoring programme to research management and maintenance of the area. A collaboration between HKV, TAUW and Iv-infra facilitates the required data management.
The Research and Monitoring Programme started in November 2018 and will run until the end of 2022. Together with Rijkswaterstaat, HKV and Technical University Delft, we are now working on efficient data management and use with regard to the research objectives of the sandy reinforcement.
Curious how it works? You can watch this video from Rijkswaterstaat.
“This project is an asset to similar projects in the future and an example of good data management!”
– Rinse Wilmink, Adviser Flood Protection Coastal and Coastal morphology, Rijkswaterstaat