Critical Connection Helps Tomorrow Water Grow
“The Water Council’s collaborative spirit and deep understanding of the sector have been instrumental in our success.”
-Mohamed Abdelbadie, Tomorrow Water chief commercial officer
Tomorrow Water
is a wastewater technology provider looking to grow in the U.S. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is a leader in wastewater treatment looking to modernize its aging infrastructure.
Through its global network and innovation programming, The Water Council was able to put these two members together and boom – a successful partnership was born.
The Jungnang Wastewater Recovery Facility in
Seoul, South Korea, was able to decrease its
footprint with the Proteus technology and convert former treatment space to parkland.
About Tomorrow Water
Tomorrow Water, based in Anaheim, Calif., is the U.S. subsidiary for BKT Co. of South Korea. Its Proteus technology uses plastic filtration media to speed up the process of primary wastewater clarification on a smaller footprint, while also boosting the biosolid removal rate.
The company, already successful in Korea, was looking to grow in the U.S. but was finding it hard to break through. That’s where The Water Council came in.
Launching the Pilot
In early 2021, The Water Council held a virtual roundtable with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation for its cluster partners in South Korea, including the Korea Water Partnership. Dr. Joh Kang, a technical adviser for Tomorrow Water, attended and learned about The Water Council’s Pilot Program, which facilitates pilots for emerging water technology at sites in southeastern Wisconsin.
Tomorrow Water applied for the Pilot Program in spring 2021 and was accepted for a pilot at MMSD’s South Shore facility. The pilot operated in late 2021 and early 2022.
Proteus uses plastic filtration media to conduct primary clarification more quickly.
“It’s difficult to overcome that first hurdle for a foreign technology to come to the U.S. and be demonstrated by an independent process,” said Mohamed Abdelbadie, Tomorrow Water chief commercial officer. “The Water Council’s extensive network and expertise helped us navigate the process during the application as well as during the piloting project itself.”
Scaling Up
The pilot was so successful that MMSD now plans to launch a full-scale demonstration test comparing Proteus with another technology it is considering. MMSD estimates that adopting one of these technologies at a single plant could save millions of dollars over 20 years while increasing energy recovery, reducing chemical use, and cutting overflows and basement backups.
Instead of just putting up a temporary building for the demonstration test, MMSD decided to build a permanent research and development facility to test additional wastewater technologies and concepts relevant to MMSD and the region. The utility hopes to award a construction contract in fall 2026 and begin the demonstration testing in early 2028.
Meanwhile, Tomorrow Water has leveraged its Milwaukee pilot to gain exposure across the U.S. and Canada, completing a pilot in northern California and currently running pilots in Los Angeles and Quebec.
“Our connection to The Water Council was a pivotal moment,” Abdelbadie said. “The Water Council’s collaborative spirit and deep understanding of the sector have been instrumental in our success.”