AI Aeration Optimisation Delivers 15% Energy Savings at WWTP

Elancourt Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), serving around 40,000 people in the Île-de-France region, faced increasing pressure to reduce operating costs while maintaining compliance with strict environmental discharge standards. Aeration, which accounts for up to 60% of a plant's electricity consumption, represented the site's largest energy cost. Rising electricity prices and tighter regulations meant SEVESC needed to cut energy and chemical consumption without compromising treatment performance, sludge quality, or regulatory compliance. Traditional manual aeration practices often resulted in over-aeration and unnecessary energy use.

SEVESC partnered with SUEZ Digital Solutions to deploy the Optim-Aeration module of Aquadvanced® Plant, a real-time supervision and optimisation platform. The solution combines a user-friendly operational dashboard with AI-driven process control that automatically adjusts key treatment parameters every 15 minutes. Importantly, Aquadvanced® Plant was integrated with the site's existing SCADA systems, instrumentation, and laboratory data, requiring no additional sensors or infrastructure investment. The platform was fully deployed in less than two weeks with no disruption to operations.

Within six months, Elancourt achieved a 15% reduction in aeration energy consumption and an 18% reduction in electricity costs, delivering annual savings of approximately €7,500 and avoiding around 12 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year. The plant maintained 100% compliance with discharge permit requirements, with no exceedances for ammonium, TKN, or sludge quality. Sludge settling performance improved, and system availability reached 97%. The project also helped operators adopt a more proactive, data-driven approach to plant management, identifying additional efficiency opportunities beyond the initial scope and reducing reliance on conservative manual operating practices.