Aquasure
AquaSure is a special purpose vehicle that operates the Victorian Desalination Plant under a 30-year PPP with the Victorian State Government, producing up to 150 billion litres of desalinated water per year for Melbourne, Geelong and regional Victorian communities via reverse osmosis technology.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersSouthbank, Australia
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Aquasure does
AquaSure Pty Ltd is a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Victoria, Australia in 2009 to deliver the Victorian Desalination Project under a 30-year Public Private Partnership with the Victorian State Government, with the concession running until September 2039. The company finances, designed, built, operates and maintains a 440 megalitre-per-day seawater desalination plant at Wonthaggi using a two-pass reverse osmosis process with Dual Media Pressure Filters and proprietary energy recovery devices, plus an 84 km underground water transfer pipeline to Berwick with seven delivery points (five operational, two planned) serving Melbourne, Geelong and regional Victorian communities.
Under the PPP, AquaSure receives contract payments from the Victorian Government (funded via Melbourne Water) in return for producing desalinated water on an annual order basis, with flexible ordering between 0 and 150 billion litres per year and latent expansion capacity to 200 billion litres. The total maximum net present cost over the 30-year concession is A$5.7 billion assuming full 150 GL/year orders, against a fixed A$3.5 billion construction price funded by A$3.7 billion in debt from more than 30 financial institutions and A$0.8 billion in equity from ten shareholders. Operations and maintenance are delivered by Watersure, a SUEZ–Ventia joint venture, through a team of more than 80 staff 24/7, supported by AusNet Services for the 220 kV HVAC power cable infrastructure.
AquaSure has no diversified revenue streams, no other customers, and is structurally scheduled to cease operations after the concession ends, at which point the plant and pipeline are handed back to the Government debt-free and in full working order. All operational electricity (up to 90 MW at full production) is offset by renewable energy certificates, the CEO has committed the company to net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and operations are conducted under an EPA licence with 221 strict environmental performance requirements across 38 areas.
Aquasure firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Aquasure
- Legal name
- AquaSure Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://aquasure.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- AquaSure is a special purpose vehicle that operates the Victorian Desalination Plant under a 30-year PPP with the Victorian State Government, producing up to 150 billion litres of desalinated water per year for Melbourne, Geelong and regional Victorian communities via reverse osmosis technology.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Aquasure industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Desalination Infrastructure Services
- NAICS
- Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213)
- SIC
- Water Supply (4941)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) Plants & Operations (EUANAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Post-Treatment & Remineralization (Stabilization, Blending, Disinfection) (EUANAFAG)
Keywords
Where Aquasure is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Southbank
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices2 records
Markets served
Aquasure business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others
Revenue model
- Government Contract Payments: As a Public Private Partnership (PPP), AquaSure receives contract payments from the Victorian State Government (funded by Melbourne Water) for financing, designing, building, operating and maintaining the Victorian Desalination Plant. The total maximum net present cost over the 30-year concession period is $5.7 billion assuming water orders of 150 billion litres per year.
- Desalinated Water Production: Water production services provided at the request of the State Government. AquaSure does not own the water produced; it desalinates seawater for delivery to Melbourne Water and other authorities in quantities specified each year by the Government.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Aquasure product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Aquasure finances, designs, builds, operates and maintains the Victorian Desalination Plant under a 30-year Public Private Partnership with the Victorian State Government. The plant uses two-pass reverse osmosis to produce up to 150 billion litres of potable water per year, delivered through an 84 km pipeline to Melbourne Water, South Gippsland Water, South East Water and other authorities for distribution to Melbourne, Geelong and regional communities. Operations and maintenance are performed by Watersure (a SUEZ-Ventia joint venture) through September 2039.
Product overview
The Victorian Desalination Project is a unified infrastructure system comprising a seawater desalination plant at Wonthaggi, an 84 kilometre water transfer pipeline, and associated marine structures. The plant uses reverse osmosis (membrane-based) desalination technology and is operated and maintained by Watersure under contract through 2039. Environmental management and an ecological reserve are integral to the project's operations, with all power consumption offset by renewable energy certificates.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Victorian Desalination Plant A drought-proof seawater desalination facility located in Wonthaggi, Victoria, producing high-quality drinking water for Melbourne, Geelong and regional communities. Uses reverse osmosis to deliver up to 150 billion litres of water annually with flexibility to order between 0 and 150 GL and expand to 200 GL.
- Operations and Maintenance Services Watersure operates and maintains the desalination plant, seawater tunnels, pipeline and ecological reserve under contract to AquaSure through to September 2039, employing 80+ staff operating the plant 24/7 to deliver continuous water production and maintain environmental compliance.
- Water Transfer Pipeline An 84 km, 1.93 m diameter underground pipeline transporting desalinated water from Wonthaggi to Melbourne, with seven delivery points connecting regional communities along the route and the capacity to transport up to 200 billion litres of water per year.
- Ecological Reserve A 225-hectare public ecological reserve featuring restored coastal habitats, walking trails and biodiversity conservation areas, populated with 3.5 million indigenous plants and 150,000 trees to restore local ecosystems and visually integrate the desalination site.
Quantifiable outcome
- Design capacity of over 160 billion litres of water per year with flexible ordering of 0-150 billion litres and expansion capability to 200 billion litres
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Aquasure
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Aquasure technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Aquasure partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- Watersure (SUEZ and Ventia Joint Venture)coreWatersure is responsible for operations and maintenance of the Victorian Desalination Project through to September 2039 under contract to AquaSure. Brings together SUEZ's expertise in water treatment facility design/operation and Ventia's experience in water services delivery. Team of 80+ staff operates the plant 24/7.
- SUEZcoreSUEZ provides smart and reliable resource management solutions for water and waste. Their local team supplies seven million Australians with safe drinking water, diverts 880,000 tonnes of waste from landfill annually, and enables sustainable oil and gas sector processing.
- VentiacoreVentia is one of the largest essential infrastructure services providers in Australia and New Zealand, operating across defence, social infrastructure, water, electricity, gas, environmental services, resources, telecommunications and transport. Their water capabilities span the full water cycle from supply catchments to distribution.
- AusNet ServicescoreOperates and maintains the 220kV HVAC power cable (longest of its type in the world) that powers the desalination plant. Power cable is co-located with the pipeline and runs from the plant to Cranbourne Terminal Station.
- Thiess Degremont Joint Venture (TDJV)coreDesign and construction contractor responsible for building the Victorian Desalination Project. Completed construction in December 2012 in just over 36 months. TDJV brings together Thiess (construction expertise) and Degremont (water treatment technology).
- Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA)majorGovernment stakeholder working with AquaSure on environmental management controls and Environmental Management Plans implementation. EPA licence holder for operational environmental compliance.
- Environment Protection Authority (EPA) VictoriamajorRegulatory authority issuing operational licence for the plant. Requires continuous monitoring of seawater concentrate quality, compliance with discharge limits, and operation within approved mixing zones.
- Melbourne WatermajorWater utility receiving desalinated water and funding AquaSure's contract payments. Coordinates water supply from desalination plant into Melbourne's water network.
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Aquasure competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Seqwater: Queensland bulk water authority supplying south-east Queensland; analogous state-government-owned off-taker that contracts with infrastructure providers for water supply, similar to Melbourne Water's relationship with Aquasure.
- SA Water: South Australian state-owned water utility with the Adelaide Desalination Plant (Hillside/Port Stanvac); comparable Australian B2G SWRO operator with similar regulatory and political dynamics.
- Sydney Desalination Plant (Kempsey to Sydney operator): Australia's other major SWRO facility supplying Sydney; operated under a similar long-dated government contract structure and shares the climate-resilience value proposition for the same end customer segment (state government water utilities).
- Water Corporation (Western Australia): Western Australian state-owned water utility operating the Perth Seawater Desalination Plant and similar large-scale SWRO assets; analogous Australian state-utility buyer/operator model to Melbourne Water.
Others
- AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC-Lavalin): Global engineering, project management and water infrastructure specialist that advises on and delivers large-scale desalination PPPs; comparable as a competitor/advisor in the same tender and operations ecosystem as Aquasure.
- Thiess (CIMIC Group): Construction partner via the Thiess Degremont Joint Venture that built the Victorian Desalination Plant; a major Australian infrastructure contractor that participates in the broader PPP delivery ecosystem for desalination and water assets.
Direct peers
- Cadagua (Ferrovial): Spanish water infrastructure EPC and operator with significant SWRO concession portfolio (e.g., Tampa Bay, Mundaring); directly comparable to Aquasure's build-own-operate-transfer PPP model.
- IDE Technologies: Israeli-origin technology provider and operator of SWRO desalination plants globally, including the Sorek and Carlsbad plants; competes with AquaSure's two-pass RO design in large municipal seawater desalination tenders.
- SUEZ (now part of Veolia): Global water treatment and desalination operator; forms the Watersure JV with Ventia that operates and maintains the Victorian Desalination Plant through 2039, and competes directly with Aquasure's offerings in international SWRO concessions.
- ACCIONA Agua: Spanish-headquartered global developer and operator of large-scale seawater desalination plants (SWRO) under PPP/concession models, with a comparable project portfolio in Australia, the Middle East and Africa.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Aquasure social profiles
Digital presenceAquasure compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
Aquasure financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Aquasure leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Aquasure subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
Aquasure funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Aquasure M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Aquasure
What does Aquasure do?
Aquasure finances, designs, builds, operates and maintains the Victorian Desalination Plant under a 30-year Public Private Partnership with the Victorian State Government. The plant uses two-pass reverse osmosis to produce up to 150 billion litres of potable water per year, delivered through an 84 km pipeline to Melbourne Water, South Gippsland Water, South East Water and other authorities for distribution to Melbourne, Geelong and regional communities. Operations and maintenance are performed by Watersure (a SUEZ-Ventia joint venture) through September 2039.
Is Aquasure a public or private company?
Aquasure is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Aquasure founded?
Aquasure was founded in 2009. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Aquasure based?
Aquasure is headquartered in Southbank, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Aquasure make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Government Contract Payments are the primary driver. The others are desalinated Water Production.
Who are Aquasure's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Seqwater, SA Water, Sydney Desalination Plant (Kempsey to Sydney operator) and Water Corporation (Western Australia). Others are AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC-Lavalin) and Thiess (CIMIC Group). Direct peers are Cadagua (Ferrovial), IDE Technologies, SUEZ (now part of Veolia) and ACCIONA Agua.
Does Aquasure have an API?
No public API is recorded for Aquasure.
What industry is Aquasure in?
Aquasure's product category is Desalination Infrastructure Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUANAFAA, Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) Plants & Operations, with a secondary code of EUANAFAG, Post-Treatment & Remineralization (Stabilization, Blending, Disinfection). Its NAICS code is 22131 and its SIC code is 4941.