EIT Climate-KIC supported Aqua Robur secures Horizon Prize

Aqua Robur won the prestigious Horizon Prize worth EUR 2 000 000 for their innovative solution on water management systems.

Water scarcity is a growing concern in Europe.  When coupled with water leakages and deficient water quality, it poses a great challenge for the whole region. Today, batteries or grid connections are used to power remote measurement to detect leakages and deficient water quality in the water management infrastructure, but these solutions have their problems as they require regular management and constitute high costs without the ability of providing real time data transfer.

To counter these challenges, the European Commission launched the zero power water monitoring Horizon Prize, with the aim of finding solutions that can detect water leakages in the grid without being dependent on external power supplies.

The winning solution

Among the 20 presented solutions from across Europe and beyond, EIT Climate-KIC supported Aqua Robur emerged as the winner with their solution called Fenix Hub. The Fenix Hub is a self-powered device that utilises energy from the water flow in network pipes to produce electricity, making it an eternal battery. The Hub can be installed anywhere, enabling reliable and real-time measurements in the water distribution network regardless of remote access to electricity.

In a world where climate change, water scarcity and an ever-increasing urban population pose challenges and strain on water management systems, the Fenix Hub provides a new and sustainable solution to water management with the prospect of being applied across the European market.  

Aqua Robur joined the EIT Climate-KIC Accelerator programme in 2015 as a Stage I project. After evolving and further developing their concept and solution, they entered the final Stage III of the EIT Climate-KIC Accelerator in 2017.