Tiense Suiker and De Watergroep turn sugar beet water into drinking supply

Tiense Suikerraffinaderij and De Watergroep have launched an innovative project to produce drinking water from the surplus liquid extracted during sugar beet processing. The initiative, announced on Tuesday, could supply drinking water to 10,000 households in Tienen before 2030.

With climate change bringing longer periods of drought, De Watergroep is exploring new, sustainable water sources. The idea emerged when Tiense Suiker approached the company several years ago to collaborate on a circular water solution.

Sugar beets consist of roughly 75 per cent water. As a result, the refinery is left with around 1 billion litres of excess water each year. Much of this is already reused within production, but the new project aims to upgrade part of it into high-quality drinking water.

A pilot installation, in a container near the site’s existing water treatment facilities, is scheduled to begin operating in spring 2026. If tests go well, treated water will be pumped to a buffer reservoir in Goetsenhoven, 1.5km away, before entering the local supply by 2030.

Although Tiense Suiker has recently reduced its beet cultivation contracts, the company says the change will not affect the water project.

The initiative is led by the province of Flemish Brabant and the Provincial Development Agency and is supported by EU programmes Interreg North-West Europe and EFRO Flanders. KU Leuven and VITO are responsible for the technical development of the pilot system.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Tiense Suiker factory © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND}