Circular Initiatives

MELiSSA was designed to close the loop in space: to turn waste into water, oxygen and food. The same principles can close loops on Earth, in places that use large amounts of energy and water and produce heat and waste. Alongside the terrestrial applications already in use, the Foundation develops a small number of initiatives that apply MELiSSA knowledge to specific kinds of infrastructure. They are concepts in development, and we are looking for partners to take them further.

OASiS

A circular resource layer for data centres

Data centres are running into the same limits across Europe: grid capacity, water for cooling, and the heat they discharge. As demand for computing grows, so does public and regulatory scrutiny of what these facilities consume and emit.

OASiS (Output As a Source, Integrated Sustainably) treats what a data centre throws away as a resource. Low-grade heat, CO₂-bearing exhaust and process water are exactly what two well-understood biological processes need: anaerobic digestion and algal cultivation. Linked together, following the closed-loop methodology developed in MELiSSA, they turn a data centre’s waste streams into energy, nutrients, clean water and food.

1. Inputs

Recovered heat (30 to 60 °C), CO₂ exhaust, and cooling and process water.

2. The loop

Anaerobic digestion of organic waste and algal cultivation that fixes CO₂, in one integrated system.

3. Outputs

Biogas and power, biofertiliser, algal biomass, clean water, and crops grown in a controlled environment.

The individual processes are proven; connecting them to a data centre at this scale is new. OASiS is at an early, exploratory stage, with no site selected. The next step is a small on-site pilot to validate the numbers under real conditions. We are looking for pilot sites, technology integrators and infrastructure advisors.

AQUA STADIA

A circular water and resource layer for stadiums

From pitch to plant. From wastewater to resource.

A large stadium has a constant need for water to irrigate the pitch and grounds. On matchdays it produces large volumes of grey water from washrooms, catering and cleaning, and organic waste from food and pitch clippings. Today these are mostly a disposal cost.

AQUA STADIA adds a circular layer underneath the stadium, without changing the bowl or the seating:

grey water treated on site and reused to irrigate the pitch and grounds;
pitch clippings and catering waste digested into biogas for on-site energy;
the nutrient-rich digestate returned to the grounds as fertiliser;
waste heat from treatment and digestion used for hot water.

MELiSSA technology already has a place in football: at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam (see Terrestrial Applications), urine collected at the stadium has been used to fertilise the pitch. AQUA STADIA extends that idea to the whole water and waste cycle. It works best when designed into a renovation before the works are completed, which makes the stadium renovations under way in Spain ahead of 2030 a natural opportunity.

Have a site, a question or an idea?

These initiatives are developed with SEMiLLA IPStar, the commercial spin-off of MELiSSA technology, and with partners from industry and research. If you manage infrastructure that uses a lot of water or energy, or would like to explore a pilot, we would be glad to hear from you.