These two events, which ran simultaneously, showcased the latest trends and innovative ideas in these fields; they also served to highlight the huge potential and leadership position of companies such as FCC Aqualia, in water management, and FCC Medio Ambiente, in smart cities. Aqualia was one of the main sponsors of this first edition of iwater, the International Integrated Water Cycle Show, where it presented its know-how under a 360º approach with a focus on innovation.

Five Aqualia professionals spoke at the event, sharing their knowledge of urban resilience, the Sustainable Development Goals, the SmartAqua app, a case study of a successful public-private partnership in Ibiza, and the revolutionary All-gas R&D project. iwater addressed vital issues for the future of the water business by focusing on three tracks: resilience, governance and finance.

Aqualia speakers at iwater

The first day of the conference featured the presentation of the book “La regulación de los servicios urbanos del agua” (Regulating municipal water services) by its author, Enrique Cabrera, who is a professor at Technical University of Valencia (UPV). The event was attended by Félix Parra, general manager of Aqualia, and many company employees.

Eva Martínez, Area Head in Aqualia's Department of Innovation and Technology, participated in a roundtable discussion on "Urban resilience", which probed the major conceptual changes that cities must address: technological, regulatory, the orientation towards sustainable growth and, above all, opening up to citizens, the key players in this change.

Rafael Pérez, International Operations Director of Aqualia, spoke about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). He discussed a number of actual cases involving the Company in which these goals were achieved in a tangible way.

FCC Aqualia was also represented in the exhibition area, where Miguel Perea, the company's head of Customer Management, gave a talk entitled "FCC Aqualia and citizens. A multichannel approach for enhanced service. The Smart Aqua App". The most comprehensive app of its kind in the market, Smart Aqua offers an integrated multichannel service to respond to citizens' needs and represents a breakthrough in open, transparent communication with users.

Also present in the booth were Sandra Benbeniste, one of the originators of the Ibiza and Formentera Water Alliance, and Eduardo del Castillo, Aqualia representative in the Balearic Islands. They both described their experience in a session entitled "Public-private partnerships for citizens' benefit: Ibiza, a case study". Eva Martínez also gave a talk entitled "The miracle of micro-algae powering buses", in which she described All-gas, a pioneering project that is revolutionising the paradigm of wastewater treatment by obtaining clean energy sustainably from effluent. Smart City Expo World Congress was structured into eight thematic areas: Governance, Economy, Society, Sustainability, Mobility, Data & Technology, Safety and the Circular Economy.

FCC Medio Ambiente speakers at Smart City Expo

Under the slogan "We build the city together", FCC Ambiente participated in several sessions and roundtable discussions. Alfonso García, Director of Technical Services, participated in one of the most important plenary sessions of the Congress, entitled "Rethinking mobility patterns to build more liveable cities". García highlighted the need to implement models of mobility in cities that are efficient and safe and use sustainable energy sources; he discussed in depth the issues of electric vehicles, low carbon emissions, infrastructure, smart transport systems and mobility.

Jesús Pajares, head of the Machinery Department at FCC Medio Ambiente, participated in a session entitled "Innovative ideas to move people around cities". Pajares described FCC's experience in researching motors for electric vehicles for municipal services over the last 40 years, since the first prototype rubbish truck powered by lead batteries came into service in Barcelona in 1974, up to the latest ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicles) developed for waste collection and sewer cleaning.

Smart City Plaza

FCC Medio Ambiente also played a prominent role in Smart City Plaza, a space that recreated a city with a range of smart solutions, where it provided municipal services using ZEV developed using FCC proprietary technology.