Connect with us

Technology

Studying Worms to Revolutionize Wastewater Treatment: The Science Behind Vermifiltration at the Vermitech Innovation Center

Published

on

WALLA WALLA, Wash., March 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — https://perca.net/ As industries and municipalities seek sustainable solutions for wastewater treatment, a remarkable and reliable natural ally is emerging—earthworms. The study of worms for vermifiltration, a process that leverages their biological activity to purify water, is gaining traction as an eco-friendly alternative to conventional wastewater treatment methods. At the forefront of this research is the Vermitech Innovation Center, a pioneering facility owned and operated by Perca, Inc., dedicated to advancing vermifiltration technology and demonstrating its potential in real-world applications.

The Science Behind Vermifiltration

Vermifiltration harnesses the natural capabilities of earthworms and beneficial microbes to break down organic matter and remove contaminants from wastewater. This biological process not only treats water effectively but also significantly reduces energy consumption and the need for chemical additives. Compared to traditional wastewater treatment plants, which can be energy-intensive and costly, vermifiltration offers a low-carbon, low-maintenance, and cost-effective alternative.

“Earthworms act as nature’s tiny engineers, processing organic waste, aerating filtration beds, and enhancing microbial diversity,” explains Dr. George Damoff, Chief Science Officer at Perca. “Through continuous research and innovation, we are improving the efficiency of this process and scaling it for broader industrial and municipal applications.”

The Role of the Vermitech Innovation Center

As a hub for research, development, and real-world implementation, the Vermitech Innovation Center is instrumental in refining vermifiltration techniques and promoting industry adoption. Located in Walla Walla, Washington, this state-of-the-art facility houses advanced and proprietary testing grounds and pilot systems designed to optimize worm-based filtration for diverse wastewater sources, including municipal sewage, agricultural byproducts, and industrial effluents.

Perca’s commitment to sustainable water treatment solutions is evident in the Center’s focus on scientific experimentation, performance validation, and commercial scaling. By collaborating with universities, environmental organizations, and industry partners, the VIC is actively driving the global transition toward nature-based wastewater treatment technologies.

“The research we conduct at the VIC is essential for demonstrating the real-world feasibility of vermifiltration,” says Sierra Smith, Director of Research and Development at Perca. “We are constantly innovating and fine-tuning our systems to enhance water quality, improve efficiency, and make this technology accessible to industries and communities worldwide.”

Key Benefits of Studying Worms for Vermifiltration

Sustainability & Carbon Reduction – Unlike conventional treatment methods that rely on high energy inputs and chemicals, vermifiltration is powered by biological processes, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption.

Cost-Effectiveness – Vermifiltration requires minimal infrastructure and operational costs, making it an attractive option for rural and decentralized wastewater treatment systems.

Efficient Contaminant Removal – The combination of earthworms and microbial activity effectively removes even toxic chemicals such as pharmaceutical residues, pesticides, and heavy metals, organic matter, pathogens, nitrogen, and heavy metals, producing cleaner effluent water that can be safely discharged or reused.

No Sludge or Brine Production – Unlike traditional wastewater treatment that generates large amounts of sludge requiring disposal, vermifiltration produces no sludge or brine during the process, eliminating costly waste management concerns. Vermifiltration eliminates sludge accumulation, lowering waste management costs and environmental impact.

Biodiversity & Soil Health Benefits – The byproducts of vermifiltration, including nutrient-rich worm castings, can be repurposed as soil enhancers, supporting regenerative agriculture and reducing landfill waste.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Vermifiltration

With rising global demand for sustainable water management solutions, the Vermitech Innovation Center is positioning itself as a leader in advancing vermifiltration technology. Through continued research, pilot projects, and strategic partnerships, Perca aims to scale this natural wastewater treatment method to benefit industries, municipalities, and communities worldwide.

“We believe that engaging with nature, rather than working against it, is the key to solving our most pressing environmental challenges,” says Russell Davis, President and CEO of Perca. “The research being conducted at the VIC is proof that solutions inspired by nature can drive real impact in wastewater management.”

For more information about the Vermitech Innovation Center, its research initiatives, or partnership opportunities, please visit https://perca.net/contact-us/ or contact Nicky Ridler at betterwater@perca.net.

About Perca

Perca is an industry leader in sustainable wastewater treatment solutions, specializing in innovative nature-based technologies. With a mission to transform wastewater management through eco-friendly and cost-effective approaches, Perca continues to drive impactful change across industries and communities.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/studying-worms-to-revolutionize-wastewater-treatment-the-science-behind-vermifiltration-at-the-vermitech-innovation-center-302407558.html

SOURCE Perca, Inc.

Continue Reading

Technology

Guidewire Congratulates 2026 Innovation Award Winners – Beazley, Definity, and RCIS

Published

on

By

Winners applied AI across product development, claims, and software delivery, reducing manual work and speeding results

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — CONNECTIONS CONFERENCE — Guidewire (NYSE: GWRE) congratulates the winners of its 2026 Innovation Awards: Beazley, Definity, and RCIS. The annual awards honor Guidewire customers for their innovation in addressing evolving business needs, driving better experiences for their customers and agents, and delivering better results across the insurance lifecycle. Winners were announced during Guidewire Connections, the company’s annual customer conference.

The three 2026 Innovation Award winners are:

1. Beazley

Modernization across product development, broker submissions, and billing is helping Beazley improve speed and efficiency while creating a foundation for growth.

Beazley, a leading Lloyd’s syndicate and global specialty insurer, is transforming its policy administration and billing capabilities through a modern, connected Guidewire Cloud platform, creating a consistent global foundation while retaining the flexibility required for local market variations. Working with Capgemini, a Guidewire Consulting Global Strategic partner, Beazley implemented Guidewire PolicyCenter and BillingCenter, with the European solution delivered in approximately eight months.

The program addresses significant complexity across Beazley’s global specialty business, including rationalizing more than 200 marketable products into a condensed, streamlined set of products which reduced complexity and improved speed to market. Capgemini’s AI-enabled delivery model, combined with Guidewire’s Advanced Product Designer (APD), established a repeatable Product Factory approach enabling rapid development.

The transformation also connects Beazley’s digital and broker platforms with its core underwriting operations through Guidewire Integration Gateway, using API and event-driven integration to support broker submissions, customer and account data and policy servicing. Combined with a modernized billing capability, this creates a more connected digital insurance lifecycle and supports Beazley’s evolution towards increasingly AI-enabled underwriting.

These capabilities provide Beazley with a scalable modern core that simplifies the underlying technology landscape while supporting greater automation, product agility and continued growth across global specialty markets.

For additional information, visit the Beazley website.

2. Definity

Definity launched its first production agentic AI solution to manage and triage broker First Notice of Loss (FNOL) intake, replacing manual data re-keying with structured draft claims generated directly in Guidewire for a claims adjuster to review.

Developed in collaboration with Deloitte, a Guidewire Consulting Global Premier partner, the solution leverages a network of AI agents to classify submissions, extract and reason over information, and execute workflows to generate structured draft claims directly in ClaimCenter.  It provides a governed, traceable path from AI processing to claims operations, keeping adjusters firmly in the loop while reducing manual effort and improving speed and consistency.

Beyond modernizing FNOL intake, the initiative establishes a scalable foundation for deploying reusable, governed agentic AI capabilities across Definity’s claims lifecycle, accelerating future innovation.

For additional information, visit the Definity website.

3. RCIS

RCIS Tech Transformation in Crop Insurance, one of the insurance industry’s most complex and highly regulated lines of business, is modernizing operations with Guidewire InsuranceSuite, Jutro Digital Platform, data, and AI-first innovation

As part of its Passion for the Possible™ initiative, RCIS enlisted PwC, a Guidewire Consulting Global Strategic partner, to transform its legacy environment into a modern, unified platform powered by Guidewire Cloud Platform, delivering enhanced digital experiences for agents, underwriters, adjusters and customers.

Led by its vision to evolve in technology, ease and modern customer experience, RCIS and PwC leveraged Guidewire Advanced Product Designer (APD), Digital and AI-first engineering to accelerate delivery of a highly customized crop insurance solution. The transformation includes complex legacy data migration, integrated geospatial Farm Maps, automated Risk Management Agency (RMA) regulatory reporting, and streamlined core insurance operations all while maintaining business continuity through critical seasonal agricultural cycles. RCIS is among the top providers of crop insurance in the U.S. and one of only 12 Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) of the Federal Crop Insurance Program. It is the only AIP to offer coverage in all 50 U.S. states through a national network of more than 3,700 agents.

It is anticipated the RCIS Guidewire transformation will set a new benchmark – in the agriculture industry and across the insurance industry as a whole – for modernizing complex insurance platforms, combining Guidewire Cloud innovation, deep industry expertise, and AI-first engineering to accelerate transformation and deliver measurable business value.

For additional information, visit the RCIS website.

“We congratulate this year’s Innovation Award winners and thank all participants and our consulting partners for their contributions,” said Brian Desmond, CMO, Guidewire. “These insurers applied AI to the work that runs their business and have measurable results to show for it. Agentic insurance is where the industry is heading: AI agents that execute work within the controls the insurer sets. These winners are showing how to get there, on Guidewire.”

About Guidewire

Guidewire is the platform P&C insurers trust to engage, innovate, and grow efficiently. More than 570 insurers in 44 countries, from new ventures to the largest and most complex in the world, rely on Guidewire products. With core systems leveraging data and analytics, digital, and artificial intelligence, Guidewire defines cloud platform excellence for P&C insurers.

We are proud of our unparalleled implementation record, with 1,700+ successful projects supported by the industry’s largest R&D team and consulting partner ecosystem. Our marketplace represents the largest partner community in P&C, where customers can access hundreds of applications to accelerate integration, localization, and innovation.

For more information, please visit www.guidewire.com and follow us on X and LinkedIn.

Contact:

Melissa Cobb
Director, Public Relations
Guidewire Software, Inc.
+1.650.464.1177
mcobb@guidewire.com

NOTE: For information about Guidewire’s trademarks, visit https://www.guidewire.com/legal-notices.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/guidewire-congratulates-2026-innovation-award-winners–beazley-definity-and-rcis-302922851.html

SOURCE Guidewire Software

Continue Reading

Technology

Coremail Strengthens Digital Ecosystem Ties at WPS Indonesia Roundtable 2026

Published

on

By

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Coremail participated in the WPS Indonesia Digital Ecosystem Roundtable 2026 in Jakarta, joining technology companies, local service providers and enterprise representatives to discuss Indonesia’s digital transformation and ecosystem collaboration. The company also served as title sponsor of the evening networking reception.

As Indonesia’s digital economy evolves, businesses increasingly need solutions combining cloud infrastructure, AI, enterprise software and local services. Connecting these complementary capabilities can help providers and partners better address customer needs.

The event featured partner matching, collaborative solution discussions and executive roundtables, offering opportunities to explore technology integration, joint solutions, channel development and local service delivery.

Coremail exchanged perspectives with participants on enterprise communications, data security and digitalisation in Indonesia, exploring opportunities to address evolving business requirements with local partners.

Regan Deng, Vice President of Coremail, emphasised the importance of understanding local markets and customer needs. He noted that combining complementary strengths in technology, products, infrastructure and local services can help businesses develop solutions suited to their operational requirements.

Top, Coremail’s Thailand Project Manager, introduced the company’s product portfolio, global footprint and partnership opportunities, highlighting its enterprise email communications and security expertise.

Founded in 1999, Coremail’s portfolio includes the Coremail AI-Native Secure Email System, CACTER AI-Native Secure Email Gateway, Email Archive System, Email Delivery System and Secure Email Relay. Flexible deployment and integration capabilities help organisations address differing data security, IT infrastructure and business requirements, supporting secure and reliable enterprise communications.

Coremail has established cooperation with Indonesian cloud service provider CBN Cloud to jointly develop a cloud email service platform, combining Coremail’s email technology with local service capabilities to support Indonesian businesses.

The roundtable offered opportunities to strengthen local connections and explore further collaboration in enterprise email, email security and integrated digital solutions. Coremail will seek to deepen its Southeast Asian presence and work with local partners to address evolving customer needs through secure enterprise email, email security and AI-enabled solutions.

For more information, please visit: www.coremail.co.th

About Coremail

Coremail provides enterprise email and collaboration solutions, with over 27 years of innovation in secure communication technologies. It serves over 20,000 enterprise customers and supports over 1 billion end users, with solutions widely adopted across government, finance, education, healthcare and energy.

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/coremail-strengthens-digital-ecosystem-ties-at-wps-indonesia-roundtable-2026-302921912.html

SOURCE Coremail

Continue Reading

Technology

Straits Financial Services Pte Ltd Participates in First Trading Day of LME Steel HRC Shanghai Futures

Published

on

By

SINGAPORE, Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Straits Financial Services Pte Ltd (SFSPL), a member of Straits Financial Group, announces its participation in the first trading day of the London Metal Exchange (LME) Steel HRC Shanghai futures contract on 27 October 2026.

SFSPL’s participation reflects its continued commitment to supporting the development of commodity derivatives markets and connecting clients with exchange-traded instruments to manage price risk.

The new contract is cash-settled in US dollars against the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) Hot-Rolled Coil (HRC) steel price, as converted by Commodity Pricing and Analysis Limited (CPAL). It marks the first time an SHFE metals price has been made available for trading on another exchange.

By bringing the SHFE HRC benchmark to LME, the contract provides international market participants with more direct access to this price. It also strengthens links between China’s steel market and the global trading community, supporting the risk-management needs of producers, traders, investors, and financial institutions.

“We are thrilled to participate in the first trading day of the LME Steel HRC Shanghai futures contract. The new contract broadens the range of instruments available to international participants seeking to manage steel price exposure,” said Mr Roger Quek, CEO and Managing Director of SFSPL.

Straits Financial Services looks forward to supporting the development of this market and helping its clients access relevant risk management solutions across global commodity markets.

About Straits Financial Services Pte Ltd

At Straits Financial Services Pte Ltd, we distinguish ourselves by promoting key and innovative contracts to support the financial and commodity derivative markets as well as providing products and services to fulfill the needs of every trader.

With a strong presence in Asia and a deep understanding of the global markets, we provide value to our clients by enabling global access with a local perspective. Established in 2010, Straits Financial Services Pte Ltd is part of Straits Financial Group which is headquartered in Singapore.

Straits Financial Services Pte Ltd provides a fully integrated service for our clients to access the financial and commodity derivative markets and we strive to build lasting relationships with our clients.

For more information, please visit our website at https://www.straitsfinancial.com.

This document is issued for information purposes only. This document is not intended and should not under any circumstances be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell, nor financial advice or recommendation in relation to any capital market product. All the information contained herein is based on publicly available information and has been obtained from sources that Straits Financial Services Pte Ltd believes to be reliable and correct at the time of publishing this document.

Straits Financial Services Pte Ltd will not be liable for any loss or damage of any kind (whether direct, indirect or consequential losses or other economic loss of any kind) suffered due to any omission, error, inaccuracy, incompleteness, or otherwise, any reliance on such information. Past performance or historical record of futures contracts, derivatives contracts, and commodities is not indicative of the future performance. The information in this document is subject to change without notice.

If after reading the foregoing content you have any doubts in relation there to, please consult your own independent legal, financial and/or professional adviser.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/straits-financial-services-pte-ltd-participates-in-first-trading-day-of-lme-steel-hrc-shanghai-futures-302922017.html

SOURCE Straits Financial

Continue Reading

Trending