The ALICE project aims to accelerate innovation in urban wastewater management for addressing the effects of climate change. In this frame, it will identify solutions and seek to remove barriers in their adoption and implementation by fostering an effective interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral cooperation among researchers, both experienced (ER) and early stage (ESR), and industry representatives, including water utilities and public organisations through mobility of project partner staff members.

Through mobility (secondments) of staff members facilitating the transfer of knowledge and boosting staff skills and career perspectives, ALICE aims to: explore society’s role, social behaviour and acceptability in the development of innovative management systems for urban WW; improve the urban resilience of WW infrastructures; enhance the reuse of reclaimed WW and resource recovery, exploring the leading edge technologies of urban WW treatment to broaden its dimension in Europe; explore the WW and energy nexus in WW treatment plants to reduce their carbon footprint, adopting a holistic approach to resource efficiency. 

ALICE will go beyond the state-of-the-art, suggesting new tools, methodologies and knowledge to boost innovation in the wastewater sector.

ALICE will develop an innovative interdisciplinary research programme, combining different competences (engineering, chemistry, economics, planning, governance and law, biology), methodologies and tools, following a problem-focused approach. One of the main innovative aspects of the research approach is the design of an integrated structure where different themes are clearly defined but at the same time strongly interrelated with one another. Different disciplines and sectors will work together on specific themes to address the four objectives: 

Urban resilience and wastewater infrastructures
Wastewater and energy nexus
Reclaimed wastewater reused and resource recovery

linked together by the analysis of

• Society’s role in introducing innovative urban wastewater systems