Midas touch in Amsterdam makes beer from rain.
A living lab in Amsterdam invented a water-recycling system which made beer from rainwater.
The water management has been important for governments to prevent economic and social damages from flood and drought [1]. Although they have spent a lot of subsidies for a resilience water system, many governments still have problems with low interest and participation of private sectors. Regarding this, entrepreneurs and students in Amsterdam invented a water-recycle system with a local brewery [2].
The main issue in this project was purifying rainwater to make beer. The recycling system, Hemelswater (Heaven’s water), was consisted of a bacterial filtration system. After filtering, the brewery boiled the water and used it to make the beer [2]. Also, the project team wanted the whole manufacturing process to be sustainable, so they adopted electric cars to carry rainwater. After making beer, the brewery also made ‘gin tonic’ from recycled rainwater [3].
This local innovation ecosystem with the entrepreneurs and the local company can be a good case of ‘Living Lab’. Moreover, with a story itself, the brewery could reduce marketing cost. Also, the government could reduce the cost for public campaigns about water recycling [4]. This model can promote not only private companies which use a lot of water, but also city governments to accelerate local innovation.
References
[1] Parletta, N. (2019 June 10). ‘Water Sensitive Cities Are Leading The Way In Urban Water Management’, Forbes, Retrieved on September 23, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalieparletta/2019/06/10/water-sensitive-cities-are-leading-the-way-in-urban-water-management/#683284102de3
[2] Boztas, S. (2016 July 10). ‘Heaven’s water: the launch of Amsterdam’s first rainwater beer’, The Guardian, Retrieved on September 23, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/jul/10/rainwater-beer-amsterdam-hemelswater-rainfall-climate-change-de-prael-brewery
[3] Chng, M. (2017 December). ‘When it Rains, Make Beer: Lessons from the Amsterdam Rainproof Programme’, Center for Livable Cities in Singapore, Retrieved on September 23, 2019, from https://www.clc.gov.sg/research-publications/publications/digital-library/view/when-it-rains-make-beer-lessons-from-the-amsterdam-rainproof-programme
[4] Amsterdam Smart City. (2016). ‘Rainbeer (Hemelswater)’, retrieved on September 23, 2019, from https://amsterdamsmartcity.com/projects/hemelswater#about
