|

ABB Reveals an Additional 8.56 Billion Cubic Meters of Wastewater a Year Needs to be Treated to Meet UN Goals

March 21, 2023

ABB Reveals an Additional 8.56 Billion Cubic Meters of Wastewater a Year Needs to be Treated to Meet UN Goals
Wastewater treatment plant aerial view
  • To reach UN water targets by 2030, global wastewater treatment capacity needs to increase by 8.56 billion cubic meters each year
  • Research by ABB to mark World Water Day reveals a need to invest in an additional 469 wastewater treatment facilities annually
  • Early integration of technology to drive efficiency at plants is key

Global wastewater treatment capacity needs to increase annually by 8.56 billion cubic meters and investment in an additional 4691 treatment facilities per year is required to meet United Nations (UN) goals2. These are the findings of independent research commissioned by ABB ahead of World Water Day (WWD) on March 22, 2023.

As the UN prepares to report on progress made against its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), ABB’s research focuses on SDG 6.3 which aims to improve water quality by halving the proportion of untreated wastewater globally, increasing recycling, and minimizing the release of hazardous materials. The UN says 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water, while more than 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation.

ABB Reveals an Additional 8.56 Billion Cubic Meters of Wastewater a Year Needs to be Treated to Meet UN Goals

However, treating wastewater is energy intensive, with the industry consuming up to three percent of the world’s total energy output3 and contributing to over 1.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions4.

“This research proves more needs to be done to help support the UN goals and accelerate progress in tackling water scarcity,” said Brandon Spencer, President of ABB Energy Industries. “But we need to ensure we are achieving these wastewater treatment targets in the most energy and resource efficient way possible to make it sustainable. This is where technology is key.”

While increasing wastewater treatment capacity is a priority, the early integration of technology to drive efficiency at plants is also vital. ABB’s automation, electrification and digital solutions are helping monitor, analyze and manage wastewater plant operations. In association with crucial measurement and control solutions, which collect and transmit a wealth of operational and diagnostic data, ABB systems help optimize resource efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

Development Economics, which has over 20 years’ research experience, utilized the same data employed by the UN to assess what real-term measures are needed. Based on modelling using a 50-million-liter daily capacity wastewater treatment plant as the benchmark, a further 469 treatment facilities – the volume equivalent of 3.4 million Olympic swimming pools – is required each year.

The scale of the challenge linked to UN SDG 6.3 is highlighted in a report5 from 2021 assessing the volumes of wastewater collected, treated, and reused. The research, which is used by the UN, concludes that 48 percent or 171.3 billion cubic meters of wastewater is uncollected or untreated annually. To meet SDG 6.3 – which targets halving the proportion of untreated wastewater by 2030 – these figures need to be reduced to 24 percent and 85.65 billion cubic meters.

ABB Reveals an Additional 8.56 Billion Cubic Meters of Wastewater a Year Needs to be Treated to Meet UN Goals

In 2022, ABB’s Energy Transition Equation report6 analyzed how better use of wastewater could relieve pressure on water supplies through greater integration of automation and digital technologies:

  • Wastewater sites can reduce carbon emissions by up to 2,000 tons per annum
  • With over 50,000 plants worldwide, 100 million tons of COcould be saved each year
  • By applying a package of automation and digital solutions, water companies can reduce carbon emissions as well as deliver annual operational savings of up to $1.2 million per plant

Source

Related Story

ABB and Pace CCS Partner to Drive Carbon Capture And Storage Growth

Working to make the capture, transportation and storage of industrial carbon dioxide emissions more accessible, ABB has signed a partnership agreement with Pace CCS, a global leader in engineering solutions for this market.

Together, the two companies will apply their respective expertise to make it easier for industrial companies to implement CCS infrastructure by lowering the CAPEX and operational investment required to enter this market.

Related Articles


Latest Articles

  • Small Town Infrastructure is Being Retrofitted, Federal Funding Helps Drive This Change

    September 9, 2025 By Krystie Johnston Municipalities across Canada are tackling climate change. From big cities to small towns, every action counts. Densely populated metropolitan areas are usually the first places that experience infrastructure upgrades to public buildings and structures because they need to support the increased demands of a growing population. But small towns… Read More…

  • Bossard is Scaling Front Line Flexibility

    September , 2025 Experience Smart Factory Solutions that Adapt to Your Operators’ Needs at FABTECH 2025 By Krystie Johnston Bossard is bringing the future of assembly and inventory management to FABTECH 2025 from September 8 – 11. Visit them at Booth #B13000, at the North Hall in the Automation Pavilion at McCormick Place in Chicago… Read More…


Featured Article

Revolutionizing Material Movement with Autonomous Mobile Robots

Revolutionizing Material Movement with Autonomous Mobile Robots

In today’s fast-paced manufacturing and logistics industries, the need for efficient and flexible material movement solutions has never been greater. Traditional methods like conveyor systems, forklifts, and manual pushcarts have served us well, but they come with limitations.

That’s why Omron is thrilled to announce the launch of their game-changing MD Series of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs). Read more


Products

  • WAGO Expands 750 Series with New Functional Safety I/O Modules

    September 12, 2025 WAGO Expands 750 Series with New Functional Safety I/O Modules WAGO is introducing three functional safety I/O modules to be used with WAGO’s PFC controllers. These new 750 Series modules have four safe inputs along with either two safe outputs at 10 A/24 VDC, or four safe outputs at 2 A/24 VDC… Read More…

  • First Controllers in Trio’s Motion-PLC Range Simplify the Design of Stand-Alone Machines

    September 10, 2025 Trio Motion Technology has launched the first controllers from its new Motion-PLC range, designed to provide advanced motion control performance with the functionality and simplicity of a PLC. The new class of controller combines high-performance motion control over EtherCAT plus logic and I/O expansion, enabling faster, simpler machine development. The first models in… Read More…