About us
AquaTech Testing & Environmental Laboratory
DHI is a leading independent consulting and research organisation founded in Denmark and now operating globally with over 1,300 employees. DHI’s mission is to advance technological development, governance and competence in the fields of water, environment and health. AquaTech Testing & Environmental Laboratory, a specialised department with teams in both Denmark and Singapore, offers a wide range of testing and consultancy services. Our services include compliance evaluation of ballast water management systems, and a range of specific tests related to ballast water management. Other services address environmental technology verification by using our Maritime Technology Evaluation Facility and our Environmental Laboratory. Our services include ecotoxicological and microbiological studies, following international standards or tailored in collaboration with clients. We provide testing and consultancy to support regulatory compliance and informed decision-making at every stage, from research and development to final product implementation. With a strong focus on quality, timely delivery, and confidentiality, we primarily serve international industrial companies, ensuring reliable and precise results.
DHI Maritime Technology Evaluation Facility
Hundested, Denmark
The test facility conducts biological evaluations of maritime technologies and other technical equipment. Due to the unique location of the test facility, high quality water is available from natural sources of fresh water and seawater.
The test facility comprises six ballast retention tanks of 250 m3 each and two source tanks, one of 750 m3 and one of 1000 m3. Testing can usually be conducted from the beginning of March to mid-December. The sampling of test water is accredited by DANAK (The Danish Accreditation Fund).
Our test facility is equipped with automation and data collection by PLC to allow monitoring and full assessment of the customer’s system performance. Regular calibration and validation of all the ancillary sensors provide trusted results and allow us to focus on evaluating the technical aspects of the technology.
In addition, ensuring optimum biological conditions of our test water via continuous planning and monitoring provide assurance for high quality tests.
Facility equipped with qualified state-of-the-art sensors and automation
Cloud database allows for remote real-time monitoring
Using our in-house solution, Datafarm, we provide real-time data to our specialists in the office. This allows immediate analysis and troubleshooting in case of test disruption. By doing so, we cut down significantly the idle time and reporting time. All tests can be performed in a timely manner, and thereby reducing the overall testing time.
Key Features
Testing of different types of BWMS: UV system (both low and medium pressure), electro-chlorination, heat treatment and others.
A capacity of conducting about 100 land-based tests for official Type-Approval annually.
Both short hold time (< 24 hour) and long hold time (re-growth test) land-based tests.
Streamlined process of testing allows for efficient handling of samples going to DHI laboratory. With implementation of ISO/IEC 17025:2015, we adopt rigorous control of samples analysis and results to ensure high quality data delivered for type-approval reporting.
Environmental Laboratory
Hørsholm, Denmark
DHI’s laboratories are accredited by DANAK (The Danish Accreditation Fund) to carry out accredited measurements of e.g., ballast water samples and our laboratory performs accredited ecotoxicological tests.
About the laboratory
We have a fully equipped environmental laboratory staffed by a highly experienced team of technicians, biologists, engineers, and chemists. With over 30 years of expertise, we have conducted extensive studies and tests in biology, chemistry, ecotoxicology, and microbiology for industries, regulatory authorities, and international research programs.
Our laboratory is accredited according to ISO 17025, covering biological and physicochemical analyses as well as ecotoxicological tests. This accreditation includes the biological performance evaluation of ballast water management systems. Additionally, we conduct ecotoxicological studies in compliance with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), ensuring the highest standards of reliability and regulatory compliance in non-clinical safety testing.
Our diverse laboratory services include:
- Biological analyses of live phytoplankton and zooplankton
- Microbiological analyses of E. coli, Enterococci and Vibrio cholerae
- Ecotoxicological studies according to ISO standards, OECD guidelines or OSPAR Convention protocols
- Production of phytoplankton pigment standards and analysis of phytoplankton pigments in environmental samples
Key Features
Accreditated ISO 17025:2015
In-house facility to conduct microbial and biological analysis
Active in validation of method and research & development activities
DHI Ballast Water Center
DHI Ballast Water Centre provides biological performance verification of ballast water management systems according to the requirements by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the United States Coast Guard. The IMO flag state or the US authorities are represented by classification societies and independent laboratories accepted to perform tests and inspections of specific equipment. DHI performs type approval testing of ballast water management systems in collaboration with three classification societies and independent laboratories, which include DNV GL, Lloyd’s Register, Korean Register and PIA.
We provide biological performance tests of ballast water management systems conducted with an ISO 17025 accreditation.
Furthermore, we work in accordance with the quality management system standard, ISO 9001.
The certificate covers the following products or services within the area of water, environment, and health:
- consulting
- software
- research & development
- laboratory testing, analysis and products
