On the outskirts of Delft, a young company is working on a quiet revolution in water treatment. CIWI – short for Chemical Innovation for Water Industries – was founded in 2023 by engineers Jasper Schakel and Erik Kraaijeveld, both from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). Their mission is to help industries treat water without the large quantities of chemicals that are currently required. On 26 October 2026, the company will compete in the final of the WIS Award.
“Factories, drinking water companies and wastewater treatment plants often use metal salts, such as ferric chloride, to treat water,” explains Jasper Schakel. “These substances cause small particles to clump together so they can be removed through filtration. However, producing, transporting and storing these chemicals requires energy, costs money and results in COâ‚‚ emissions.”
CIWI has developed an alternative. Instead of manufacturing chemicals elsewhere and transporting them to site, the active substances are produced directly on location using electricity and everyday materials such as steel and salt. An electrochemical process generates metal hydroxides, which are then used to treat the water.
The result is that factories and drinking water companies can install compact units alongside their existing treatment systems. This reduces the need for transport and lowers dependence on externally supplied chemicals.
The company has grown rapidly in recent years. “My business partner and I literally started in his back garden,” says Schakel. “Today, we have a team of seven people based at YES!Delft, where many innovative start-ups are located.”
An important milestone was a pilot project at the Lage Zwaluwe wastewater treatment plant, operated by Waterschap Brabantse Delta (the regional water authority for western North Brabant). “And after the summer, we will also begin a project with the drinking water company Brabant Water,” says Schakel.
CIWI is one of the seven finalists in the WIS Award 2026, Water Alliance’s innovation award for Dutch water technology companies. The final will take place on 26 October during the European Water Technology Week (EWTW) in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. The other finalists are Deep, Flowless, Luper Technologies, Solaq, Spectromarine and Versa Solution.
More information and registration: www.europeanwatertechweek.eu