The Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology

What The Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology does

The Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB) is a faculty research centre within The University of Queensland's Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology, operating as a leading water and environmental biotechnology research centre in Australia. It was renamed in 2023 from the Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC) to reflect its expanded scope into broader environmental biotechnology. With approximately 100 personnel across academic, research support, and higher degree research staff, ACWEB maintains collaborative links to over 100 utilities, businesses, industry groups, research institutions, and educational facilities worldwide.

The centre's technology portfolio spans nine research themes (advanced wastewater treatment, decarbonisation technologies, digitalisation of networks, drinking and recycled water, emerging contaminants, municipal organic solids, sewer and water infrastructure, sustainable agri-industry, and water-energy-carbon nexus) and includes several proprietary technologies. Notable among these are anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation) for energy-efficient nitrogen removal — deployed in Australia's first municipal side stream facility at Urban Utilities' Luggage Point Resource Recovery Centre (1000m3 capacity, ~A$500K annual savings) — Digital Dosing Technology using model predictive control (world's first real-time control of sewer chemical dosing, 84% sulfide mitigation improvement, 49% chemical consumption reduction), Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) for drinking water treatment (80-90% removal of taste and odour compounds), Microbial Electrosynthesis for CO2-to-chemicals conversion, and UGOLD nutrient recovery.

ACWEB's revenue model is structured around research funding and grants (primarily from the Australian Research Council), industry partnership and consulting income from water utilities, and educational programmes including Masters and PhD degrees in Urban Water Engineering plus microcredentials delivered through IWES. The centre does not operate commercial pricing; intellectual property is transferred through collaborative research agreements, licensing, and commercialisation support. Primary customer segments are Australian government-owned water utilities, with secondary segments including research institutions, regulatory bodies, and municipal infrastructure operators.

Name

The Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology

Legal name

The University of Queensland

Website

https://acweb.uq.edu.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ACWEB is a University of Queensland research centre with approximately 100 personnel conducting applied research in wastewater treatment, sewer infrastructure, drinking water, and environmental biotechnology for Australian and international water utilities and industry partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water and Environmental Biotechnology Research Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Sewage Treatment Facilities (221320)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water, Wastewater & Stormwater Compliance (BPAHAJAJ), SCADA, Instrumentation & Controls Integration for Water/Wastewater Projects (IMAFAGAK), Water & Wastewater Treatment Plant Equipment (Clarifiers, Aeration, Membrane Systems) (IMAHAEAJ)

Keywords

• Water treatment research
• Wastewater treatment technologies
• Environmental biotechnology research
• Sewer network management
• Drinking water treatment

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Lucia

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research Funding and Grants: ACWEB receives funding from Australian Research Council (ARC) and other research funding bodies for various research projects and fellowship programs.
2. Industry Partnership and Consulting: Collaborative research projects with industry partners including Seqwater, SA Water, Urban Utilities, and commercial entities. The centre provides technical support, consultation, and commercialisation of research outcomes.
3. Education and Training: Delivers graduate education programs including Masters of Urban Water Engineering, PhD programs, and continuing professional development through IWES.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ACWEB is a university research centre that conducts research and develops proprietary technologies for water and environmental biotechnology applications. The centre operates nine research themes covering advanced wastewater treatment, drinking and recycled water, sewer and water infrastructure, decarbonisation, digitalisation, emerging contaminants, and the water-energy-carbon nexus, and delivers outcomes through collaborative research projects with water utilities, technology commercialisation, graduate education programs, and continuing professional development.

Product overview

The Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB) is a research center at the University of Queensland operating as a portfolio of research themes, technology offerings, and educational programs. The center comprises nine research themes (Advanced Wastewater Treatment, Decarbonisation Technologies, Digitalisation of Networks, Drinking and Recycled Water, Emerging Contaminants, Municipal Organic Solids, Sewer and Water Infrastructure, Sustainable Agri-Industry, and Water, Energy, and Carbon) that collectively address sustainable water management challenges. These research themes are supported by proprietary technologies including Digital Dosing Technology for sewer corrosion control, Anammox biological nitrogen removal technology, Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) technology for drinking water treatment, Microbial Electrosynthesis for CO2 conversion, and UGOLD urine nutrient recovery technology. ACWEB also delivers educational programs including degrees in Urban Water Engineering, Microcredentials in Water Treatment, and Summer/Winter Research Programs. Industry engagement is facilitated through commercialisation, consultation services, and shared research facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Degrees in Urban Water Engineering Academic degree programs (Masters, PhD, MPhil) in urban water engineering delivered in collaboration with UQ's School of Chemical Engineering and School of Civil Engineering, for students seeking graduate qualifications in the field.
• Microcredential in Water Treatment
• Summer and Winter Research Programs
• Commercialisation and Consultation Services
• Facilities and Testing Services

Quantifiable outcome

• AU$500,000 annual cost savings for Urban Utilities through anammox process
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Urban UtilitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner and key industry collaborator in the ARC linkage project 'Network-wide sewer odour & corrosion management by model predictive control'. Urban Utilities is a major Queensland water utility partnering on digital dosing technology development and implementation.
• SA WatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner and key collaborator on sewer research and greenhouse gas emissions projects. Partner in N2O mitigation research and anammox technology development.
• City of Gold CoastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding partner in the digital dosing technology research project, contributing to sewer network research and implementation.
• SeqwatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject partner for biofilm-based drinking water treatment research. Partner in ARC Linkage Project for MBBR technology demonstration.
• AnoxKaldnescoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner for Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) technology development for drinking water treatment applications.
• University of MelbournecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partner in ammonia emissions study from sludge drying processes, with Dr Mei Bai from the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Science.
• Melbourne WatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in research on ammonia emissions from sludge drying pans at Victorian wastewater treatment plants.
• Queensland Urban UtilitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing industry partner in research including iron chloride替代 alum studies and student water prize competitions.
• South East WatersecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner in antibiotic resistance research and sustainable water treatment solutions.
• DC WatersecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational industry partner collaborating on research into environmental contaminants and antibiotic resistance.
• Public Utilities Board of SingaporesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational industry partner in water research collaboration.
• Water Research AustraliasecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner collaborating on antibiotic resistance and sustainable water treatment research.
• International Water AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership for hosting IWA Nutrient Removal and Recovery Specialist Conference 2024 in Brisbane. Centre has strong IWA ties with staff receiving Distinguished Fellowships and Emerging Water Leader recognition.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• DC Water: Washington DC's water and sewer utility, named as an ACWEB international industry partner on emerging contaminants and antibiotic resistance research. Comparable as a large utility collaborating on research, but does not directly compete with ACWEB's Australian-centred operations.
• Singapore Public Utilities Board (PUB): Singapore's national water agency and one of ACWEB's named international industry partners. Comparable as a leading-edge water utility that both conducts and funds applied research, operating in a different geography from ACWEB's primary Australian base.

Direct peers

• Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology): World-leading water research institute embedded in the Swiss ETH domain, with deep partnerships between research and utilities. Closely mirrors ACWEB's university-anchored research-to-utility translation model, especially around environmental biotechnology and resource recovery.
• Water Research Australia: Australia's national water research and innovation body. Directly comparable to ACWEB as a collaborative research organisation connecting utilities, researchers, and industry — WaterRA is named as an ACWEB partner on antibiotic resistance research.
• KWR Water Research Institute: Dutch water research institute operating at the intersection of water utility science and applied research. Comparable in mission — advancing drinking water and wastewater science through collaboration with utilities — and serves as a benchmark for the European peer-research-centre model ACWEB occupies in Australia.

Others

• International Water Association (IWA): Global network of water professionals and researchers. Directly comparable as the umbrella organisation in which ACWEB staff hold Distinguished Fellowships and host the Nutrient Removal and Recovery Specialist Conference; IWA conferences are a primary dissemination channel for ACWEB research.
• AnoxKaldnes (Veolia Water Technologies): Technology partner and MBBR (Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor) originator now part of Veolia. Comparable because AnoxKaldnes is ACWEB's named technology partner on the MBBR drinking water project, representing the commercial counterpart that could scale ACWEB's biofilm research into global deployments.

Broad incumbents

• Xylem: Global water technology company providing advanced treatment, digital dosing, and smart network solutions. Comparable to ACWEB as a commercial provider of digital dosing and water network optimisation technologies, but operates as a large for-profit incumbent across the same problems ACWEB researches.
• Water Environment Federation (WEF): International water quality organisation providing research, education, and standards for the wastewater sector. Comparable to ACWEB's role in advancing industry knowledge through conferences, publications, and professional development.
• CSIRO Land and Water: Australia's national science agency with a major Land and Water business unit conducting water and wastewater research. Comparable as an Australian research provider to utilities, but operates at much greater scale and breadth than ACWEB across multiple scientific domains.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/UQACWEB
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uqacweb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology