News
Cleantech firm Hydro Industries boosted with new board appointment
29/11/2021
Carmarthenshire-based cleantech venture Hydro Industries has appointed leading private equity figure, Myra Tabor, to its board as a non-executive director to support its global expansion plans.
A graduate of the London Business School, Banwen-born Ms Tabor has worked for the World Bank in Africa, and headed up the Special Investments Group at the Royal Bank of Scotland before founding Cognis Capital in 2003 where she remains its chief executive.
Llangennech headquartered Hydro Industries, which also has offices in London, Cairo and Riyadh, specialises in industrial wastewater treatment as well providing safe drinking water to some of the most disadvantaged communities globally. It is particularly active in the Middle East.
Its chief executive, Wayne Preece, said: “Myra Tabor is a force of nature with an awesome track record of success and we are all delighted that her experience, energy and insights will now help Hydro to ensure our clients can meet their environmental commitments around the world whilst creating jobs and opportunities at home.”
Ms Tabor said: “Hydro’s ability to harness technology to provide safe drinking water and help clean up the environment is revolutionary and its recent growth in parts of the world where water is often the most precious commodity is beyond impressive. I look forward to helping a formidable team to achieve its ambitious and noble aims”.
The UK Government has a small equity stake (2.5%) in the business through its now fully invested £1.1bn debt to equity Future Fund.
Other investors include co-founders of FTSE 100 car insurance to loans business, Admiral, David Stevens and Henry Engelhardt. Ms Tabor currently doesn’t have an ownership stake in Hydro.
World Water Day 2021
22/03/2021
On World Water day, our CEO, Wayne Preece, describes a global first – a remote build of a water purification plant in Bangladesh. What does water mean to you? That’s the question posed by the UN today. Here in Wales, I’m tempted to sigh and say rain.
We take this precious natural resource for granted. Not so in Morrelganj. There, clean, safe, drinking water is priceless. More often than not, supply is scarce and what’s available is contaminated, sometimes with arsenic.
Today, however, there’s hope. Despite the global pandemic, Hydro has managed to design, build and ship a water purification plant nearly 5,000 miles, to Morrelganj so that some of the most impoverished people on earth have access to this basic right.
Lockdown prevented us flying out to finish the job, but today our engineers are breaking new ground by remotely directing local tradesmen to assemble the plant on our behalf. It’s hard to think of a better use for Zoom! I’m told it will take 10 days. Then there’ll be around 40,000 litres a day to quench the thirst of 2,000 people. Our partners – BRAC – are on the ground to distribute and together we aim to expand the scheme to many more communities so World Water Day will hopefully be a better day in future.
New Sponsor for Swansea's Inclusive Surf Project
09/11/2020
The world class centre on the Gower will enable children with Autistic Spectrum Conditions and those with additional needs to experience the exhilaration and joy of riding the waves. The UK’s first tandem seated surfboard, allowing coaches to accompany children in the surf, is among the innovative equipment and practices pioneers by Surfability UK CIC at Caswell Bay.
The project was the brainchild of Benjamin Clifford who, together with the support and guidance of co-directors Nathan John and Benedict Room, founded Surfability UK 7 years ago. The DIY SOS team called to action hundreds of local tradespeople and volunteers, who were mobilised to design and deliver the vision.
The BBC has described the programme as “spadefuls of community spirit, bucket loads of tear-jerking moments and the chance to witness Nick Knowles in a wetsuit”.
Benedict Room said:
“We are extremely grateful to our supporters for enabling us to open up the thrills, delights and benefits of surfing to those who until now have not had the chance to experience them. I hope the programme alerts many more people to this new inclusive approach and perhaps inspires others to replicate what we have done here on Gower in all walks of life”.
Hydro Industries, a water technology company based nearby at Llangennech have just announced their support as the lead commercial sponsor to help take the project forward.
Sarah Preece, who first saw an opportunity for Hydro to get involved, described Surfability as “The dream team”.
She added:
“Hydro is proud to be the lead sponsor of Surfability UK. It gives us great joy to see our logo on their new website and kit and we are delighted that a BBC Children in Need special will tell the story of Surfability’s heroic journey, whilst showcasing incredibly generous local support. Hydro’s commitment to environmental programs to help clean water-ways and oceans makes this a perfect partnership”.
If you would like to be involved in supporting this fantastic movement and community, please get in touch with Benedict Room, Partnership Manager: Benedict@surfabilityukcic.org.
The West Wales Tech Firm Bringing Clean Water to Some of The World's Poorest Communities
11/09/2020
Cleantech developed by Carmarthenshire-based Hydro Industries will be shipped to Bangladesh this weekend to provide safe drinking water for communities currently reliant on contaminated currently reliant on contaminated sources.
Llangennech based Hydro Industries technology is being deployed to some of the world’s poorest communities as part of a global partnership to meet one of the most critical sustainable development goals of the United Nations.
Its purification systems will be up and running within weeks in Morrelganj where two thousand people are currently reliant on contaminated water from a local canal. It comes after tests carried out by British scientists revealed dangerous levels of bacteria, parasites, e-coli, and in some cases, arsenic.
Hydro systems will deliver 40 thousand litres a day of clean water that complies with the stringent standards of the World Health Organisation. The WHO says that 140 million people in 50 countries are drinking arsenic-contaminated water. Hydro Industries is collaborating with Bangladesh-based international development organisation BRAC, which is financed by Partnerships between businesses, governments and civil society to promote sustainable development and counter some of the greatest challenges of climate change.
Hydro had developed pioneering electro-coagulation technology, which can handle large volumes at low energy, while removing pollutants at an economically sustainable cost. The ambition is to expand the initial programme beyond Morrelganj to other communities in Bangladesh and elsewhere.
Chief executive of Hydro, Wayne Preece said: “The prospect of our technology helping some of the most deprived communities in the world whilst providing decent jobs for your scientists and engineers at home is extremely exciting and everyone at Hydro is thrilled to see our systems start their journey to Bangladesh this weekend”.
Nick Virr, programme director of BRAC UK, said:
“Working with private sector partners like Hydro is critical to delivering the sustainable development goals and solving some of the most difficult barriers in getting services to the world’s poor. Hydro bring extensive experience, innovation and high quality solutions that when coupled with BRAC’s on the ground understanding of the problems and people’s needs can deliver sustainable improvements in people’s lives at the scale needed”.
The systems are being shipped from the UK to Chittagong and will arrive during the first week of October. They are due to start operating on October 20th. Just before the lockdown in March, Hydro announced one of the biggest export deals secured by an indigenous SME, with a $200m contract with Egypt’s East Gas Company to deliver a water treatment plant to service an oil terminal on the Red Sea coast, near the tourist resort of Hurghada.
In a ten year contract Hydro will ensure that all water discharged back into the Red Sea meets the strict new environmental standards set by the Egyptian Environmental Agency.
The contract will create 50 jobs.
Hydro Industries Secures $200M Climate Clean-up Contract in North Africa
02/03/2020
The high-tech British water company, Hydro Industries, Headquartered in West Wales, has secured a contract worth up to $200 million, to help safeguard one of the world’s most fragile and precious ecosystems over the next decade.
Hydro Industries has won a global tender to build a world class water treatment plant to service an oil terminal on Egypt’s Red Sea Coast near the popular tourist destination of Hurghada. This Red Sea coastal strip is considered amongst the top five diving locations in the world, with 5,000 year old coral reefs set in what is commonly referred to as one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Sea World’.
Jointly and in cooperation with East Gas Company, Hydro will ensure that all water discharged back into the Red Sea meets the strict new environmental standards demanded by the Egyptian Environmental Agency, whilst continuing to drill for gas and oil which are vital for the country’s economy.
When the plant is completed in April 2021, Hydro will be able to process 55,000 tonnes of wastewater a day, making it one of the largest ‘produced water’ plants in the world. The company has been contracted to do so for the next ten years. Hydro’s technology, developed in the UK, will allow the effective removal of challenging contaminates such as hydrocarbons, boron and heavy metals, returning clean water to the Red Sea.
Wayne Preece, CEO of Hydro Industries, said:
“The prospect of preserving a site of such natural wealth and beauty for future generations is a real privilege and our technology allows industrial progress alongside true high-tech environmental protection. This is a worldwide challenge with a market valued at over $14 billion per year. Hydro’s developing relationship with UK Export Finance will enable us to capitalise on our major breakthrough in this sector, further enhancing our British and global brand”.
Mohamed Shoaib, CEO and Chairman of the East Gas Company, said:
“Hydro’s innovative technology allows us to harvest the natural resources of our country responsibly whilst safeguarding this most precious of eco-systems so cherished by our own people and millions of visiting tourists alike. This is good news for Egypt, the UK and the Red Sea”.
During the signing of this contract at No:10, Downing Street, Prime Minister Boris Johnson commented;
“This is exactly the type of contract in the post Brexit era that show cases the best of UK industry. Hydro is an innovative technology company who are hungry to take their products and services to the world and helping to clean-up and safeguard our precious planet whilst creating jobs back home”.
Hydro Industries Welsh Firm Secures it's First Contract in Saudi Arabia
24/02/2020
Global water technology company Hydro Industries has secured a contract to treat wastewater in Saudi Arabia, its first in the Middle Eastern Kingdom.
The project is seen as a further endorsement of Hydro’s homegrown technology, and its ability to deploy solutions on a global scale and provide a world class services.
The Llangennech, Carmarthenshire based company has already opened an office in Riyadh, recognising the scale and potential of one of the most lucrative markets in the world.
The Hydro chairman, former Wales rugby captain David Pickering, signed the deal with the Kingdom’s National Water Company just before Christmas, and the company will begin to export state of the art equipment to Saudi Arabia in February.
The initial contract commits Hydro to treat up to 100 tonnes an hour of industrial sludge at Al Heet on the outskirts of Riyadh. The smart waste solutions pioneered by Hydro have already been deployed in the USA, Japan, Egypt, UAE, India, Sudan, Somalia, Europe and the UK. This latest contract was won following the signing of an MOU with the Saudi Arabia Government Investment Authority (SAGIA). Hydro plans to complete for further work as it grows its business and brand within the Kingdom.
Wayne Preece, CEO of Hydro Industries, said:
“We are grateful to the National Water Company for this opportunity to showcase what our home-grown, world class technology can do, and we look forward to helping the kingdom fulfil their ambitious environmental commitments whilst creating jobs within the UK and Saudi Arabia”.
A spokesman for the National Water Company said:
“Our partnership with Hydro will enable us to respect the environment, meet our critical climate change commitments and deliver the economic growth that is vital to sustain and improve the jobs, opportunities and quality of life we aspire to for our country and people”.
Neil Crompton, UK ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said:
“I am thrilled to see a British company, with home grown cutting-edge technology helping this kingdom to deliver its ambitious vision for its people and the planet. We look forward to working with Hydro to secure many more opportunities as the UK looks beyond Europe for trade, growth and investment”.
