Veolia Secures AUD $700m in New Contracts to Advance Technological Innovation in Water Management in Australia

This is the latest success of its GreenUp strategic program, which has a focus on delivering useful innovations that can save territories and communities tens of millions of dollars.

New contracts

Central Highlands Water has signed a 15-year contract for six water treatment plants across the region, with a five year option. Uniquely, this contract has been coupled with a sustainable energy contract for the first three years, bringing together two of Veolia strengths.

“Our new partnership enables the delivery of Central Highland Water’s 2040 ‘More than Water’ aspirations in caring for our community and environment, ensuring essential water services are safe, reliable and affordable now and into the future,” said Central Highlands Water Managing Director Jeff Hayden.

Hunter Water has also engaged Veolia for a further 10 years, with an additional five year option. Veolia will continue to operate and maintain all of Hunter Water’s treatment facilities, including the new Belmont Desalination Plant once it is operational. Veolia will develop new technologies to reduce the facility’s energy consumption. This follows on from Veolia’s previous service contract, which has seen it operate Hunter Water’s facilities since 2014 and currently serves more than half a million Australians.

“Hunter Water is a perfect example of how Hubgrade — our digital platform — can create real value for our customers and their community. At Belmont wastewater plant, for example, Hubgrade will help to reduce energy use by 18% and strengthen water security during major storm events,” said Richard Kirkman, CEO and Managing Director of Veolia Australia and New Zealand.

Extension of Gold Coast Desalination plant, Queensland

At the same time, Seqwater has extended Veolia’s operation and management (O&M) contract for the Gold Coast Desalination Plant for up to 4 years. With Seqwater, Veolia is installing 2,500 solar panels, which will produce 2.32 GWh of emissions free energy, the equivalent of removing up to 400 cars from the road every year. The plant can produce up to 43GL of fresh drinking water every year for residents of South East Queensland, and plays a vital role providing a critical source of drinking water during floods and natural disasters, such as when Cyclone Alfred crossed the coast earlier this year:

“As the global leader in ecological transformation, Veolia is proud to help shape the future of Australia’s water sector. With one of the largest operational footprints in the country, we work with our clients to deliver safe drinking water to more than 3 million Australians every day and manage essential wastewater and recycled water assets nationwide. Through our GreenUp strategy, we are accelerating innovation with our clients - through long-term contracts like with Central Highlands Water and Hunter Water, and supported by AI-powered optimisation. Our ambition is simple: support our clients to provide the most resilient, efficient and sustainable water systems for Australian communities, while creating local jobs and delivering lasting value for our partners and the planet,” said Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia.

Background

Veolia Australia currently operates and maintains 68 water, wastewater and recycled water treatment plants across Australia, producing around 1480ML of safe drinking water every day for more than 3 million Australians. This is on top of treating a combined 660ML a day of wastewater, recycled water, and industrial water, while operating and maintaining 392km of large diameter bulk water pipeline.

ABOUT VEOLIA

Veolia group aims to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. Present on five continents with 215,000 employees, the Group designs and deploys useful, practical solutions for the management of water, waste and energy that are contributing to a radical turnaround of the current situation. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, to preserve available resources and to renew them. In 2024, the Veolia group provided 111 million inhabitants with drinking water and 98 million with sanitation, produced 42 million megawatt hours of energy and treated 65 million tonnes of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) achieved consolidated revenue of 44.7 billion euros in 2024. www.veolia.com

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