Hias How2O: From wastewater to resource: The Norwegian innovation rethinking water treatment
By Thea Johansen | Photos: Hias How2O
Across Europe, wastewater treatment plants are facing ageing infrastructure, stricter environmental regulations, and rising chemical and operational costs. At the same time, pressure to reduce emissions and recover valuable resources continues to grow.
Just outside Hamar, Norway, a wastewater treatment plant has spent the last decade proving that there may be a different way forward. Developed at Hias IKS, the regional wastewater treatment facility serving communities around Lake Mjøsa, the Hias Process® is a patented treatment technology that uses biology rather than chemicals to remove nutrients from wastewater. What began as an ambitious research and development project has evolved into an internationally recognised solution with the potential to transform how wastewater is treated.
“The idea is actually quite simple,” begins Anders Enger, managing director at Hias How2O, the company established to commercialise the technology. “Instead of forcing the process with chemicals, we let biology do the work it was designed to do.”
Anders Enger, managing director at Hias How2O.
For decades, wastewater treatment plants have relied heavily on chemical dosing to remove phosphorus and other pollutants before water is discharged back into the environment. While effective, this approach comes with significant drawbacks, including high operating costs, chemical dependency, increased sludge production and a larger environmental footprint.
The Hias Process® takes a different approach. By carefully managing naturally occurring microbial communities, the system removes phosphorus and nitrogen biologically, eliminating the need for chemical precipitation while maintaining high treatment performance. “The result is a more natural, robust and cost-efficient treatment process,” Enger explains. “We’re working with biological mechanisms that already exist in nature and creating the conditions for them to perform at their best.”
From waste to valuable resource
Before transitioning to biological phosphorus removal, the Hias treatment plant used approximately 30 tonnes of chemicals every week. Today, those chemicals are no longer required, reducing annual operating costs by millions of Norwegian kroner, while significantly lowering the plant’s environmental impact.
The technology has also allowed Hias IKS to maintain treatment capacity while creating a more compact and efficient system. Since 2020, three treatment lines have been operating successfully at the facility, with further expansion planned to meet future nitrogen-removal requirements.
The technology is currently being implemented in Kongsberg, where the first phase of a new wastewater treatment facility using the Hias Process® is expected to be completed in 2027. Yet the innovation is about more than reducing costs and improving efficiency. It also reflects a growing shift in how wastewater is viewed.
Increasingly, wastewater is being recognised not as waste, but as a valuable source of energy, nutrients and reusable resources. Among the most important of these is phosphorus, a finite resource that plays a critical role in global food production.
By relying on biological treatment, the Hias Process® creates better opportunities for recovering valuable nutrients and supporting circular resource use – a priority that aligns closely with evolving European Union policies and sustainability goals. “Wastewater contains resources that society needs,” says Enger. “If we treat it correctly, it can become a source of clean water, nutrients and energy, rather than simply a waste stream.”
The approach also offers greater resilience at a time when climate change is placing increasing pressure on infrastructure systems. Biological treatment processes are inherently adaptable and can respond more effectively to fluctuating wastewater volumes and changing operating conditions. “As regulations become stricter and weather patterns become more unpredictable, flexibility will be essential,” Enger says. “Treatment plants need solutions that can adapt to future challenges rather than simply meet today’s requirements.”
A Norwegian solution with international potential
That message is resonating internationally. Across Europe and beyond, municipalities and utilities are searching for technologies that can help them meet ambitious environmental targets while keeping long-term costs under control. Rising chemical prices, growing sustainability expectations and stricter nutrient-removal requirements are making biological treatment increasingly attractive.
With patents covering large parts of the global market, Hias How2O is now expanding its international focus and engaging with utilities, engineering companies and public authorities in several countries.
“Our technology demonstrates that it’s possible to meet stringent environmental standards, reduce dependency on chemicals, lower lifecycle costs and support circular resource use at the same time,” says Enger. “Those are challenges that water utilities everywhere are facing.”
Perhaps what makes the Hias story particularly compelling, however, is the philosophy behind the technology. Rather than attempting to overpower natural systems, the company has built its innovation around understanding and working with them.
“Instead of viewing nature as something we need to control, we see it as a partner,” Enger reflects. “By harnessing natural biological processes, we can create solutions that are not only more efficient but also more sustainable. In many ways, the answers to some of our biggest environmental challenges are already there – we simply need to learn how to work with them.”
Web: www.hias.as
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