Clean TeQ Water switches on first commercial PHOSPHIX plant in Europe
Clean TeQ Water (ASX: CNQ) has completed commissioning and contractual performance testing of its first full-scale commercial PHOSPHIX® phosphate removal plant in Europe, delivered in partnership with Enva in Ireland.
The standout result came from the treated water quality. Independent laboratory samples returned phosphate concentrations more than ten times better than the contractual requirement, coming in below 0.1 mg/L P-PO₄ against a specification of 1.0 mg/L.
The plant treats industrial wastewater generated by Enva’s end-user, a multinational pharmaceutical manufacturer. For investors, the significance runs deeper than a single site. This installation establishes CNQ’s first commercial operating reference for PHOSPHIX®, giving prospective European customers a working plant to evaluate and strengthening the company’s ability to convert its project pipeline into future contracts.
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Performance results that beat the contract by tenfold
The contractual demonstration followed a continuous ten-day operating test during June 2026, extended by mutual agreement from the original five-day period to accommodate variations in feedwater flow and composition.
Verification came from an independent source. Water samples were analysed by Enva’s laboratory, accredited by INAB to ISO 17025 under Reg. Scope 185T, confirming phosphate concentrations below 0.1 mg/L P-PO₄. Online analysers closely matched the accredited laboratory results, and all other treated water specifications, including pH, total nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand, were achieved.
The plant also exceeded its contracted hydraulic throughput while automatically staging and de-staging ion exchange trains in response to varying feed flows.
| Metric | Contractual Requirement | Achieved Result | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phosphate (P-PO₄) | 1.0 mg/L | Below 0.1 mg/L | Beat by >10x |
| Hydraulic throughput | Design capacity | Above design | Exceeded |
| Water recovery | — | 99% design | Zero liquid brine |
How PHOSPHIX works — and why phosphate removal matters
PHOSPHIX® is a continuous ion exchange process built on CNQ’s proprietary Moving Bed Ion Exchange (MBIX®) platform. It removes and recovers phosphate from industrial and municipal wastewater.
The process uses a phosphate-selective resin to reduce phosphorus below 1 mg/L, regenerates that resin with a recyclable brine, and precipitates the recovered phosphate as hydroxyapatite. This is a dewaterable calcium phosphate solid with potential for beneficial reuse.
The contrast with conventional treatment is where the commercial case sits. Traditional ferric or alum dosing produces large volumes of sludge, whereas PHOSPHIX® yields a small solid by-product with no liquid brine discharge.
Key advantages of PHOSPHIX® include:
- ~99% water recovery
- No liquid brine discharge
- Solid by-product instead of bulk sludge
- Low operating cost
- Fully automated operation
According to the company, these characteristics provide a significant operating cost and waste handling advantage over conventional chemical approaches. As nutrient discharge limits tighten, that differentiation is what makes the technology attractive to operators seeking a low-waste route to compliance.
A European regulatory tailwind and a proven reference plant
The revised EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and increasingly stringent industrial discharge limits are expected to drive significant investment in phosphorus removal and recovery over the coming decade.
The Enva plant is CNQ’s route into that market. A fully operational European reference lets prospective customers evaluate real-world performance under full-scale conditions, which the company states significantly strengthens its ability to convert its growing project pipeline into future commercial contracts.
The Nyrstar wastewater contract in Belgium, worth approximately A$10.4 million, followed the same staged sales pathway from testwork through to full execution, reinforcing that CNQ’s commercial model is repeatable across different European industrial customers and technology variants.
PHOSPHIX® joins DESALX®, HIROX®, BIONEX® and CLEAN-IX® as commercial implementations of the MBIX® platform, demonstrating its versatility across water treatment, resource recovery and critical minerals.
The MBIX platform’s commercial track record now spans multiple commodities and geographies, with the CLEAN-IX uranium processing plant at Heathgate Resources similarly exceeding all contracted performance specifications earlier in 2026, underscoring the platform’s consistency across very different feedwater chemistries.
Peter Voigt, CEO, Clean TeQ Water
“Today’s announcement marks the successful commercial deployment of PHOSPHIX® at full industrial scale, consistently delivering phosphate concentrations well below contractual requirements while exceeding design throughput.
Equally important, we now have an operating European plant that provides prospective customers with a proven commercial operating reference. A successful operating reference plant provides prospective customers with confidence in the technology’s performance under full-scale operating conditions.
PHOSPHIX® is another application of our proprietary moving bed ion exchange platform and further demonstrates the versatility of this technology across water treatment, resource recovery and critical minerals.
We thank Enva for their outstanding partnership and look forward to building on this success as we pursue further opportunities across Europe.”
What’s next for Clean TeQ Water in Europe
The company is actively pursuing additional PHOSPHIX® opportunities across Europe with both industrial and municipal customers, and believes the successful commissioning in Ireland will materially strengthen future opportunities.
The Enva partnership has progressed from laboratory test work through on-site piloting to full-scale delivery, and continues to pursue further opportunities across Ireland and the UK, where Enva promotes CNQ’s solutions under a cooperation agreement. As a credibility marker, Enva reported turnover of £390m in FY25, with more than 2,000 employees, over 20,000 customers and 43 sites.
Kieran Staunton, New Business Director, Enva
“The successful handover of this plant marks an important milestone in our partnership with Clean TeQ Water and highlights the value of strong collaboration, innovative technology and operational expertise.
Working closely with our customer throughout the project, we have delivered the first full-scale PHOSPHIX® tertiary phosphate recovery plant in Europe, demonstrating how advanced treatment solutions can help industrial customers achieve their environmental objectives while providing operational certainty.
Building on this achievement, we look forward to supporting more customers with sustainable treatment solutions that improve environmental performance and help meet evolving regulatory requirements.”
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