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UNSW Centre for Transformational Environmental Technologies (CTET)

The UNSW Centre for Transformational Environmental Technologies (CTET) is an R&D Centre established in December 2017, focusing on the development and commercialisation of innovative environmental technologies. Co-funded by UNSW Sydney and the Yixing Industrial Park for Environmental Science and Technology (ES&TP), the Centre is located in the Jiangsu Innovation Centre of Industrial Technology for Environmental Protection Equipment in Yixing, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.

The Centre currently has more than 20 staff with a variety of expertise in different areas of environmental technologies including water, air and soil. The Centre offers a suite of advanced water and wastewater treatment technologies and services ranging from low-energy desalination, degradation of toxic organics, and low-energy low fouling membrane modules to performance evaluation, design and optimisation of water and wastewater treatment systems.

The Centre also houses a wide range of state-of-the-art facilities, enabling the development of cutting-edge technologies and commercialisation. 

Torch Innovation Precinct at UNSW

A high-level Memorandum of Understanding was signed between UNSW and the Torch High Technology Industry Development Centre witnessed by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at a special ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 14th April 2016. UNSW will be home to the first Torch Innovation Precinct outside China. The Torch Innovation Precinct at UNSW will be developed over ten years (from 2016 to 2025) and will involve collaboration with Chinese industry partners affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Science & Technology’s (MOST) Torch Program on R&D projects. UNSW CTET is one of the flagship collaborations and is the only one in the area of environmental technologies. 

Joint venture partners

Established in 1949 with a unique focus on the scientific, technological and professional disciplines, UNSW Sydney has a proud tradition of sustained innovation, through world-class research and research facilities that focus on areas critical not only to Australia and the region but also internationally.

UNSW ranks 44th in the 2021 QS World University Rankings, 67th in the 2021 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and 74th in the 2020 Academic Ranking of World Universities. The main UNSW campus is located on a 38-hectare site at Kensington, seven kilometres from the centre of Sydney. The university comprises six faculties, including Arts, Design & Architecture, Business, Engineering, Law & Justice, Medicine & Health and Science. UNSW Canberra is located at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra. UNSW is partnered with 500 global institutions, more than one third partner universities making top 200 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings list and top 100 of the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings list. UNSW is a founding member of the Group of Eight – a coalition of Australia's leading universities – and a member of three prestigious international networks of leading research-intensive universities: Universitas 21, Global Alliance of Technological Universities (GlobalTech), and Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) .

UNSW's ties with the People's Republic of China span several decades and reach the highest levels of government, industry and academia. Whether it's working with Chinese industry giants on solving technical challenges, advising government on public policy reform, or educating thousands of Chinese students, UNSW has a proud reputation as China's trusted research partner.

The Yixing Industrial Park for Environmental Science & Technology (ES&TP) was built in 1992 as a China national high-tech industrial development zone approved by the State Council and is the only hi-tech (Torch) zone focussed on development of the environmental protection industry in China. The Jiangsu provincial government signed two cooperative plans with Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) respectively in 2013 and 2015 to build the park into a demonstration area for environmental protection industry transformation and to promote globalisation and high-end industry development. The 2015-20 provincial plan for National Self-dependent Innovation Demonstration Zone (NSIDZ) aims to develop ES&TP into a core area for innovative services with global competitiveness. 

Innovative technologies

CTET offers core technologies and services related to water treatment, resource recovery and environmental management and sustainability.
CTET is supported by local staff as well as academics and researchers based at UNSW Sydney.
 

The key areas CTET is currently active in are:

  • Smart design of next generation membrane modules with low energy, low cost and low maintenance.
  • Advanced Oxidation Processes that can destruct non-biodegradable and toxic organics. 
  • Electrochemical processes for low energy brackish water desalination, removal of micropollutants, and resource recovery. 
  • Contaminant migration and remediation of waste sites.

Design of water and wastewater treatment processes, including:

  1. Municipal wastewater recycling and reuse.
  2. Treatment of industrial wastewater.
  3. Desalination.
  4. Recovery of resources from wastewaters.
  5. Digitalisation of water and wastewater treatment processes

Industry partners