Customer Success Stories

Collaboration in Action:

Driving Sustainable Water Practices at Moeve’s San Roque Energy Park, Spain

Total Value Delivered: €703,000 annual savings

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"Collaboration between industrial operators and technology providers is key to achieving real impact. What makes Ecolab unique is their commitment to partnership, working alongside us to design solutions tailored to our specific needs in San Roque."

— Mar Perrote, Global Head of Safety, Environment and Management Systems at Moeve

Results

Achieving measurable impact and long-term resilience

Ecolab’s integral approach to water management is delivering both short-term savings and long-term resilience for Moeve.

The first phase of the San Roque program has already recovered and reused hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of water annually. This makes it a key contributor to the ambitious goal of reducing freshwater extraction by 20% in areas of water stress by 2025, as approved by the Board. Moeve is confident in the target completion. This will result in saving of over 3 million m3 of water – enough to fill 1.200 Olympic swimming pools or meet the annual water demand of 25.000 Spanish households.

This partnership has turned water from a constraint into an enabler for Moeve's Positive Motion Strategy, ensuring that its low-carbon projects can operate without adding stress to the scarce local freshwater sources. Beyond the figures, this project drives a conceptual transformation at Moeve, inspiring other business units to identify and implement similar water recycling projects. This success now serves as a blueprint for scaling circular water systems across Moeve’s broader operational network.

Conclusion

Collaborative water stewardship, essential to safeguard industrial operations

The collaboration between Moeve and Ecolab at the San Roque Energy Park stands as a powerful testament to the impact of smart water management to future-proof industrial operations in water-stressed regions, proving that competitiveness and environmental stewardship are compatible. By combining Moeve's vision with Ecolab’s advanced water treatment technologies, monitoring and digital expertise, the partnership is not only mitigating growing water-related risks in this area, but also securing the water Moeve needs to produce cleaner energy solutions for Spain’s future.

The results in this case study are specific to this individual customer. Results will vary for other customers based on factors and circumstances in their operations. Because of factors outside of Ecolab’s control, such as water conditions, operational procedures and any other factors, results to be obtained including but not limited to water and cost savings cannot be predicted or guaranteed by Ecolab.

BACKGROUND

Water, a key asset in all industrial operations

Water plays a crucial role in the energy transition and is vital to Moeve, one of Spain's leading energy companies, and its operations at the San Roque Energy Park. This hub for refining, chemical, and biofuel production in southern Spain exemplifies the critical nexus between water, energy, and productivity - every industrial process relies on water (for the final product, but also for cooling, heating, cleaning, transport and more), and optimizing its use directly reduces energy consumption, cuts emissions and lowers operational costs.

Comprehensive water management based on circularity throughout the entire cycle (collection, treatment, reuse, and discharge) is becoming a strategic priority in Spain due to growing pressure on water resources. In regions such as San Roque, where water availability is limited and climatic conditions are becoming more challenging, this approach enables us to turn challenges into opportunities, reducing our environmental impact and creating value. As Mar Perrote, Global Head of Safety, Environment and Management Systems at Moeve, notes, "in an area where water scarcity is part of daily reality, you quickly understand that every drop counts - literally."

Moeve recognized this imperative in its "Positive Motion" Strategy, which ties sustainability directly to business resilience, and selected Ecolab as the water solutions partner to help the company navigate this challenging context and turn its ambitions into practical, measurable outcomes. "Our goal is to show that the industry's decarbonization journey can - and must - advance in a way that respects and protects vital water resources," adds Mar Perrote.

SOLUTION

Implementing a circular and data-driven water system

Moeve partnered with Ecolab to complement its capabilities, leveraging the company's deep expertise in water technology and digital monitoring solutions. The partnership focuses on the design and implementation of a circular, data-driven water recycling system at the San Roque Energy Park. This system optimizes usage in real time, reducing freshwater intake and increasing reuse, to ensure Moeve's activities align with local community and ecosystem needs, going beyond efficiency to embody responsibility, resilience and compliance.

The core of the solution provided by Ecolab is a membrane-based water treatment plant - combining ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis - supported by a specialized chemical program. This system converts internal effluent wastewater streams into a reliable source of high-quality service water. What was considered a waste product, now becomes suitable for critical industrial processes. In fact, the system is designed to recycle up to 1.2 million m³ of water annually, boosting productivity, reducing exposure to drought-related risks, and minimizing its environmental footprint. Ecolab coupled the equipment with 3D TRASAR™ technology, a digital monitoring platform that tracks water flow, quality and performance across the entire network in real time, providing key insights to allow continuous optimization.