China wins Grand Innovation Award at IWA 2026

The International Water Association (IWA) has announced the winners of its 15th Project Innovation Awards during a gala event in Glasgow. The competition received 320 entries from 65 countries, with 23 finalists recognized across six categories.

The Grand Innovation Award was presented to a project from China titled ‘Transforming Wastewater into Value: A Megacity-Scale Water-Energy Nexus Model’. Developed by Zhongyuan Environmental Protection Co., Ltd. and the Zhengzhou Xinqu Wastewater Treatment Plant, the project converts conventional wastewater treatment facilities into integrated resource recovery hubs.

Key technical features of the winning project include advanced purification using functional materials like activated coke to remove emerging contaminants, sludge pyrolysis and gasification to recover energy, and the conversion of solid residues into recycled construction materials. The system also recovers thermal energy from wastewater to support urban water security and low-carbon development.

In addition to the Grand Innovation Award, gold awards were presented to projects from Portugal, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, and Kenya.