Tienen (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Tiense Suikerraffinaderij and De Watergroep will turn 1 billion liters of sugar-beet water into drinking water by 2030, with KU Leuven, Vito, Flemish Brabant, and EU programs supporting the project.
As VRT News reported, Tience Suikerraffinaderij and De Watergroep have launched a project in Tienen to turn water from sugar beets into drinking water. The project comes as Belgium faces more droughts and growing pressure on water supplies.
They mentioned that sugar beets contain about 75% water. During sugar production, Tiense Suiker already recovers a large part of this water. Each year, the company saves about 1 billion litres.
Under the new project, this recovered water will not only be used in production but also cleaned and treated to become safe drinking water. The project is a collaboration between industry and water experts.
What will Tienen residents drink from sugar beets by 2030?
In the spring of 2026, a pilot plant will be built in a container near the existing water treatment plant at the Tiense Suiker site. The plant will test how water from sugar beets can be turned into drinking water.
If the tests go well, the treated water will be sent through a pumping station and pipelines to a buffer basin in Goetsenhoven, about 1.5 kilometres away. Officials expect that residents of Tienen could have access to this new drinking water source by 2030.
Tiense Suiker has signed fewer agricultural contracts for the upcoming beet campaign, and the total area of beet fields also fell last year. The company says this will not affect the water project. The initiative is led by the province of Flemish Brabant and the Provincial Development Agency.
European programs, including Interreg Northwest Europe and the European Regional Development Fund, are co-funding the project. Other locations in the Netherlands, Germany, and France are also participating. Technical development of the Tienen pilot plant is handled by KU Leuven and Vito, ensuring the project is based on expert knowledge and modern water treatment techniques.
The Tiense Watervelden project was first announced in April 2022. Tiense Suikerraffinaderij and De Watergroep revealed plans to turn leftover water from sugar-beet processing into drinking water. The refinery in Tienen has treated process water since the 1980s, but now it will use over 1 billion litres of water each year that was previously partly released into local streams.
In 2024, a regional plan was introduced to use the former Goetsenhoven airbase for buffer basins and water-treatment facilities. The project is part of a wider circular water strategy by the company to reduce groundwater use and create a new sustainable source of water for the community.
