Ashland Specialties signs Memorandum of Understanding with Dockwater BV

ANTWERP, Belgium, June 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AVAIO Capital is pleased to announce that Ashland Specialties Belgium BVBA ("Ashland") has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Dockwater BV, to procure sustainable process water from the Dockwater project in the Port of Antwerp.  Ashland joins the growing group of launch customers for Dockwater.

By switching from using the Flemish region's drinking water to process water produced by Dockwater, it is estimated that companies will reduce their consumption of drinking water by up to 98%, their total consumption of water by as much as 15%, and their use of water treatment chemicals and water discharge flows related to cooling towers and demin water production facilities by more than 50%, all while lowering the cost of water.  This will increase the drinking water supply available for residential use in the water-stressed region of Antwerp and conserve fresh water in the Albert Canal.

Guillermo Espiga, a representative of Dockwater said, "We are pleased by Ashland's decision to join our growing list of project partners.  Dockwater will deliver high-quality process water and at the same time enable reductions in aggregate water consumption, reduce the chemical footprint and water cost for industrials throughout the Port of Antwerp, and advance the region's sustainable water initiatives in a manner consistent with the Flemish government's Blue Deal."

Erik Van Hove, Plant Manager for Ashland said: "We are excited to work with Dockwater to explore the possibilities of this alternative water source and the effects on our operations. This valuable alternative to drinking water fits perfectly in our overall sustainability policy. This unique  project demonstrates once more the strength and the advantages of the integrated Antwerp chemical cluster."

Media enquiries
Dockwater
Mark McComiskey
information@avaiocapital.com 
http://www.avaiocapital.com

Ashland
Katty Laeremans
klaeremans@ashland.com

About Ashland
Ashland is part of the publicly traded Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ASH), a specialty chemicals and technology group headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, USA with operations in more than 100 countries in a variety of industries.

About Dockwater
Dockwater BV is developing a desalination plant to provide process water to industrial companies operating in the Port of Antwerp, allowing industry to substantially reduce its consumption of drinking water as well as its overall consumption of water, while increasing the resiliency of water supply in the whole Flemish region.  The development of the Dockwater project is being led by AVAIO Capital, and Dockwater BV is jointly owned by AVAIO Capital and Macquarie Capital. 

AVAIO Capital is an infrastructure investment firm focused on the development and construction of new sustainable infrastructure assets throughout North America and Europe in four sectors: digital, water, energy transition and transportation.  Macquarie Capital is the advisory, capital markets and principal investment arm of Macquarie Group, and specializes in infrastructure development with more than US$ 20 billion of projects under construction or development.

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