Three Strategic Contracts Announced on UK-China visit

Modern Water (UK), the owner of specialist technologies for the production of fresh water and monitoring of water quality, is pleased to announce three key contracts during a UK Government trade mission to China, led by the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron. Signing ceremonies for all three contracts took place in Beijing as part of the UK mission and was attended by Lord Livingston of Parkhead, UK Minister of State for Trade and Investment Designate.

The contracts represent milestones for Modern Water’s work in China, which has spanned the last five years, targeting water shortage, energy efficiency and environmental protection, three items at the top of China’s policy agenda.  

The contract highlights include: A three way outline contract with Ottomen Estate Resources and Hangzhou Water to work together towards a contract for a desalination plant on Xugong Island, which would be the first in China to use Modern Water's world-leading Forward Osmosis (FO) technology; A contract with Hangzhou Water, China’s largest desalination equipment and construction company, for Modern Water to act as its sole distributor in the Middle East and its non-exclusive distributor in the rest of the world except China for its containerised seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants; A contract with Beijing Green Science and Technology Company to act as Modern Water’s exclusive distributor in China to supply Modern Water's world-leading water monitoring products as previously announced in October.

The Xugong Island contract outlines the way in which the parties will cooperate on the development of a 500m³ per day desalination facility on Xugong Island and is expected to see Modern Water deploy its world-leading FO technology in China for the first time. Modern Water’s process provides both large energy reductions of up to 30% and a reduced environmental impact compared with other technologies.

The contract follows China’s latest Five Year Plan, which identified the need for a large increase in desalination capacity to help better control water shortages and improve environmental protection. Subject to agreement of a final contract, successful implementation of the project would give Modern Water a strong position from which to compete for further projects.

Modern Water’s Executive Chairman, Neil McDougall, said: “These contracts confirm Modern Water’s position as a world leader in forward osmosis technology. Delivering our technology in China for the first time is truly groundbreaking for the company and we are very excited about what the future holds for Modern Water in the country.”

UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, said: “Modern Water is an excellent example of a small British business taking world-leading technology to China and securing significant deals - all part of Britain succeeding in the global race.”