AN INTERNATIONAL company is helping a Welsh clean tech organisation support a major ecological programme cleaning water in Egypt – from its Ebbw Vale base.

Thales’ Ebbw Vale base is at the National Digital Exploitation Centre which is one of the forefront businesses in the Welsh Government’s Tech Valleys initiative.

They will be working with Llanelli-based clean tech organisation Hydro Industries to develop and implement a command and control system for Hydro Industries’ major ecological programme in Egypt.

The command and control system will help to monitor the project remotely.

They will also work together on future programs in the Middle East.

The project in Egypt is a plant that is aiming to save the underwater ecosystem in the Red Sea. It uses smart technology to remove oil, boron and other contaminants from the wastewater produced by the oil and gas extraction process.

The first phase saw the pilot test project of the plant, which met all criteria provided by the Egyptian Government and relevant bodies, and Hydro are now in the process of replacing this pilot plant with a long-term, large-scale system that is set to cover 40,000 cubic metres a day.

Thales will also be supporting the research and development of cyber resilience across Hydro’s water cleaning technology portfolio.

This will allow for Hydro Industries to be able to reach their ambitions to safely remotely monitor and operate, clean tech systems, wherever they are in the world.

Gareth Williams, vice president, secure communications and information systems of Thales UK, said: “We are delighted to be working with a local partner in Hydro Industries who shares our global perspective and environmental ambitions. Thales are always keen to work with South Wales based organisations and to help develop safe and secure future technologies.”

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Wayne Preece, CEO of Hydro Industries, said: “The prospect of combining our science, innovation and technology with one of the world’s most advanced companies in this field is extremely exciting and will bring formidable expertise to our global operations. It’s also wonderful to see Wales so prominent in this critical field.”

Thales is a global leader in advanced technologies, investing in digital and “deep tech” innovations relating to connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum computing to build a confident future crucial for the development of our societies.

They provide customers which includes businesses, organisations and governments in the defence, aeronautics, space, transport, digital identity and security domains with solutions, services and products to help them with their roles.

Thales employs 81,000 people across 68 countries.

The National Digital Exploitation Centre in Ebbw Vale is co-founded by Thales, the Welsh Government and the University of South Wales. It supports local and regional businesses and schools and individuals through digital training, research, use of cutting edge facilities and access to state-of-the-art technology.

Hydro Industries provides water purification systems across the world as well as industrial waste and environmental treatment. They are working to provide clean water systems in various countries includingn Bangladesh.