AquiSense Enters Pilot Program with Norwegian Drinking Water Utility

The pilot project at the Setervann water treatment facility near Asker, Norway, is conducting extensive testing and analysis to assess the technical, operative, and economic performance and implications for deploying UV-C LED technology. This site was chosen for its comparable water quality to many of Norway’s water sources.

Outcomes will provide valuable insights and recommendations into adapting and the potential of implementing UV-LED technology across Norwegian water treatment systems and beyond.

A PearlAqua Kilo unit integrates LEDs into a unique and compact design without the use of chemicals or mercury-based UV lamps. This will ensure the water treatment in the facility is future-proofed against any regulatory changes affecting mercury usage. The PearlAqua Kilo™ offers municipal and industrial level disinfection with flowrates up-to 6 MGD (22,712 m3/D).

The Glitrevannverket project follows the first municipal scale UV-C LED installation from the company in North America to the Las Vegas Valley Water District.

UV-C LED disinfection is gaining traction as water companies seek alternatives to traditional mercury-based lamps, with mercury use and mining facing restrictions and a potential ban in the future.

Currently, 98 percent of the UV disinfection market uses mercury-based systems, but these face global usage restrictions over the next few years, with an eventual mining ban expected in 2032, as set out by the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The convention adopted in 2013 and entered into force in 2017, aims to reduce mercury pollution, which is one of the World Health Organization’s top 10 chemicals of ‘major public concern’.

Founded in 2014 as AquiSense Technologies LLC, the company was one of the first to commercialise UV-C LED technology for disinfection applications. It was acquired in 2016 by Nikkiso Co Ltd, a Japanese supplier of UV-C LED devices. Following an asset purchase, AquiSense Incorporated is now majority-owned by its management and employees.