Season 6, Post 42: Airports (and water), seen in a whole new light
Your author has spent more time than he would like at airports. He landed back at Heathrow yesterday, the fun of a short family holiday undermined by the usual litany of delays. London’s major airport is the busiest in Europe, supporting an average of 34,000 flights each month and 79m passengers annually. It may not occur to most travellers what happens to their wastewater. Fear not, all is under control. Read on, assuming you are not faint-hearted.
Close to the airport’s former Terminal 1 sits a receiving station for aircraft toilet waste. Much of this comprises non-biological solids. These could include various plastic materials, wipes, nappies and even, apparently, clothing. Perhaps unsurprisingly, such items can be difficult to process and may cause blockages. Enter the intelligent wastewater pumping solution. Installed by Xylem, a leading player in the water-tech space, it is the world’s first such system.
The solution leverages sensor monitoring, self-optimising technology and adaptive hydraulics to ensure that the processing works as efficiently as possible. The system has delivered cost savings to Heathrow of over 80% annually and reduced energy consumption by more than 50%, according to Xylem. These are non-trivial gains. We have consistently argued that in the face of a growing imbalance between water demand and supply, technology is an enabler which can deliver tangible efficiency benefits.
Tempted? We were intrigued to see a recent report suggesting that an engineering degree – a logical segue into watertech – delivers a higher return on investment in the US than any other. Sure, computer and information sciences may deliver a $470,000+ plus average ROI, but engineering trumps this by almost 20%. Mathematics ranks third by field of study, with engineering technicians coming in fourth. For maximising lifetime earnings, the best degree, however, is somewhat more predictable: take Computer Science at Harvard, if you’re lucky enough to get accepted.
30 October 2024
The above does not constitute investment advice and is the sole opinion of the author at the time of publication. Heptagon Capital is an investor in Xylem. The author of this piece has no personal direct investment in the business. Past performance is no guide to future performance and the value of investments and income from them can fall as well as rise.
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Alex Gunz, Fund Manager
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