SUEZ pursues its development in Singapore – deployment of ice pigging technology to clean drinking water pipes

SUEZ has been awarded a three-year contract by PUB¹ , Singapore's national water agency, to clean its water supply pipelines. As the first operational project in Asia using the Ice Pigging patented technology, it will strengthen the Group’s positioning in Singapore and throughout South-East Asia.

With an optional one-year extension, the contract was inked following the success of the Ice Pigging pilot project in 2016 in the country. SUEZ’s Ice Pigging is water-efficient as it uses significantly 50% less water than traditional cleaning techniques. It has already been used to great success in countries including the UK, the Netherlands and Australia. It won the 2016 World Food Innovation Award in the “Best Manufacturing/Processing Technology” category.

Tap water contains minerals which settle down over time in the pipelines. Ice Pigging cleans the internal surface of the pipes with an injection of ice slurry to remove these mineral sediments but also biofilm and other deposits accumulated over time. It is a non-intrusive, fast, effective and economical technology. It also consumes just a few liters of ice in industrial situations that normally require hundreds of liters of water.

Committed to sustainable resources management, SUEZ’s proprietary Ice Pigging technology is applicable to municipalities as well as a vast range of industries – including oil and gas, food and beverage, and cosmetics – where companies wish to limit the environmental impact of cleaning pipes by avoiding the use of chemicals or large quantities of water.

This new contract marks a new step in the development of SUEZ in Singapore, where its Business Unit Water Technologies & Solutions has been supporting the PUB and industries in the Pharmaceutical, Oil and IT sectors in water resources management through the deployment of highperformance technologies. The Group also partners with the PUB on Smart Water projects, desalination and energy-efficient wastewater treatment technologies. Singapore has been chosen as the Group’s business hub in Southeast Asia, drawing on an Innovation Center and a Water Technology Center, composed of around 50 research scientists and engineers who support, through innovation, projects development in the region. This contract and SUEZ’s strategic position in Singapore represent a springboard for new business opportunities throughout Asia, in both the municipal and industrial sectors.

¹ Public Utility Board