VFA Solutions participates in the European Clean Air (ZULU) project

Within the European Clean Air project, partners strive to limit the impact of harmful substances on indoor air quality. Innovative air purification techniques are optimized and tested in facilities for sensitive groups. The air quality is measured, together with citizens, and purposeful local solutions are devised.

The annual health cost caused by poor air quality in Europe is estimated at around € 1500 billion. Of course are source-oriented measures to reduce pollution and thus improve air quality the most important, but they require a certain input time. In the short term, it is therefore also necessary to provide extra protection for sensitive groups (children, the elderly, the sick …) against air pollution. One of the possible measures to improve indoor air quality is air purification.

ZULU: what and why?

Existing air purification technologies usually use mechanical filtration. Within mechanical filtration, particles are not destroyed, requiring frequent maintenance or replacement of parts. Applying a promising new technology, plasma catalysis, can lead to a more sustainable and more efficient alternative. This technique ensures the degradation of the pollutants into building blocks such as H2O, CO2, O2 and N2. Cross-border cooperation on the feasibility and application possibilities of this technology can provide new solutions.

Due to the increasing interest in measuring the air quality in both Flanders and the Netherlands, a toolbox will be developed within the ZULU project. With this toolbox the citizen himself can measure the outdoor air quality in a correct, scientific way.

Purpose of the ZULU-project

The ZULU project aims to reduce the impact of air pollution on the health of sensitive groups in the border region Flanders-Netherlands. By industrial research into and experimental development of the plasma catalytic air purification technology, it can be optimized and preserved. Subsequently, the impact in real conditions can be checked objectively by testing the technology in institutions for sensitive groups.

Since the environment of such a device is decisive for indoor air quality, the outdoor air quality is measured together with the citizens (local residents, visitors, users of the establishment). In this way, we will work together to map air quality and come up with local solutions. ZULU will provide simple tools for measuring air quality and monitoring its own results.

ZULU in Europe

Thanks to international cooperation, it is easier to create solutions for joint problems. ZULU is a project that is subsidized by the Interreg Flanders-Netherlands program.