VIII Water Innovation Day, promoting innovation and collaboration in the water sector

The winning projects of this year’s edition have been AWA Monitoring, presented by Evgeny Bulatov (IDAEA-CSIC) and LIFE TURBINES (Aigües de Catalunya) presented by Josep Manel Rillo.

UNIVERSWATER,presented by Francesca Audinofrom Leitat Technological Center, and RegValls, presented by Jordi Oliver from IRTA,have been finalists

Barcelona, March 19 – Yesterday, March 18, the Auditorium of the CosmoCaixa Science Museum in Barcelona hosted the eighth edition of the Water Innovation Day, the benchmark day in the water sector organized by the Catalan Water Partnership (CWP) with the aim of promoting knowledge transfer and collaboration between the great diversity of actors in the sector.

Another year, the event brought together companies, technology centers, universities and institutions in the sector to share innovative initiatives and explore new opportunities for collaboration. On this occasion, 15 R+D projects for the sustainable use of water and 6 projects from the AEI call were presented.

The day began with the institutional inauguration by Jordi Cros, president of the CWP, who welcomed the 140 attendees and highlighted the role of innovation and business cooperation in facing the current challenges of water management. In this sense, he remarked that “the challenges of our sector continue to be enormous, and that is why we need more knowledge, more cooperation and more capacity to transform ideas into real solutions“. In the same vein, he recalled that “the best way to predict the future is to create it” and pointed out that the conference would focus on projects that are already contributing to building this future.

Next, Xavier Amores, director of the CWP, introduced the conference and highlighted the role of the cluster, in the creation of an innovation ecosystem, with more than 140 cooperative projects in recent years in which they have participated. Among these, he highlighted the approval of 3 new European projects in 2026, representing the twenty-second European project of the cluster or the approval of six new projects by the Ministry of Industry this past 2025, both good examples of the ability to mobilize R+D and innovation resources in the water sector and CWP partners.

One of the relevant contents was the presentation of the project “iRAIN: Integration of water regeneration, nutrient recovery and artificial intelligence for water resilience in agriculture”, subsidized by the CDTI and the MCIN, presented by Anna Ribera, researcher of the Water, Air and Soils Unit of Eurecat. During his speech, he explained how the combination of advanced technologies can contribute to strengthening the water resilience of the agricultural sector, integrating water regeneration solutions, nutrient recovery and artificial intelligence tools to optimize resource management.

Presentation of R+D projects for the sustainable use of water

One of the central moments of the Water Innovation Day was the block of presentations in elevator pitch format of R+D projects. This blog began with the presentation of Carmen Espinosa, fromAigües de Vic, with the BioBass project, aimed at improving drinking water management in small municipalities. Next, Laura Vinardell, fromEurecat, presented the project “Simulation of the water quality of the Aigües Vic distribution network”, focused on the use of modelling tools to improve chlorination control.

For his part, Eduard Muñoz, from ACCIONA, presented the HADES project, a digital twin to optimise the operation of WWTPs and improve energy and environmental efficiency. Eudald Tuxans, from Sorigué, presented the DIGEVA project, aimed at obtaining high-value biofertilizers and high-quality water from the digestate of biogas plants and Josep Manel Rillo, fromAigües de Catalunya, presented the LIFE TURBINES project, focused on energy recovery and decarbonization of water distribution systems.

Other projects exhibited were REWAISE, presented by Sara De Llobet (WE&B), which promotes an intelligent water management system based on circularity and resource efficiency; GestEAUr, presented by David Fernández (Aqualia), which promotes water resilience through innovative reuse solutions designed for rural areas; i UNIVERSWATER, presented by Francesca Audino (Leitat Technological Center), which develops a smart platform for sustainable water management in agriculture. Hector Monclús, from LEQUIA – University of Girona, presented the WaterCLUE project, which develops sensors and digital tools to detect chemical and microbiological risks in drinking water.

Likewise, Jaume Cardús (Aigües de Barcelona) and Ferran Baqué (Barcelona Metropolitan Area) presented the REPIPE project, aimed at improving infrastructures and renewing distribution networks. Julia Nieto-Sandoval, from the University of Barcelona, presented the PLUVIPA-BCN project, an initiative that develops solutions to manage rainwater in Barcelona and improve urban resilience.

During the session, Francisco J. Vea, from Ciclagua, presented the project “Early detection system of pathogens in wastewater”, aimed at the development of monitoring tools that allow the early identification of possible risks and strengthen epidemiological surveillance and health management. For his part, Jordi Oliver, from IRTA, presented the Regvalls project, focused on improving the efficiency and sustainability of irrigation systems in the agricultural field.

Next, Evgeny Bulatov, from the IDAEA-CSIC, presented the AWA Monitoring project, aimed at the development of advanced technologies for the monitoring and evaluation of water quality.

Finally, Paula Carrera, from the BETA Technology Centre (UVic-UCC), presented DesNitraqua, an initiative focused on the development of strategies to obtain alternative water resources through electrodialysis to remove nitrates from contaminated groundwater.

Presentation of projects AEI 2026 call

Subsequently, Sergi Compte, area manager of R+D of the CWP, gave way to the presentation of the AEI 2026 call of the Ministry of Industry, The projects funded under the same grant programme in the 2025 call were also announced: OptimCPD presented by Joan Rosset (Disibient), Bluesteel presented by Gabriel Gallardo (AQUATER), AQUAC presented by Josep Maria Ferrer (Italic), Circulink presented by Ricardo Sebastián (AVENTEC) i Jordi Guillaumes (Sensotec) who presented the projects AGUARIC i SmartHospital. 

Innovation, digital economy and business concentration

The conference also featured the participation of Jan Eeckhout, ICREA professor  at Pompeu Fabra University, who gave the presentation “Dominant companies in the digital age”. During his speech, he explained the effects of concentration on large companies in the digital economy, as well as the implications of these phenomena for innovation, start-ups, competitiveness, and economic development.

Awards for the best R+D projects

As in previous editions, during the event the awards ceremony was held for the best R+D projects presented during the day, which were chosen by the attendees themselves live. This year the winning projects were AWA Monitoring (IDAEA-CSIC) presented by Evgeny Bulatov i LIFE TURBINES (Waters of Catalonia,) presented by Josep Manel Rillo. As finalists were UNIVERSWATER (Leitat Technological Center) presented by Francesca Audino and RegValls (IRTA) presented by Jordi Oliver.

This recognition aims to highlight the efforts of companies and research centres to develop technological solutions that contribute to facing current water challenges.

Finally, the closing of the eighth edition was carried out by Jordi Cros. Once again, the Water Innovation Day is consolidating its position as a benchmark space for innovation, technology transfer and the generation of new collaborations within the water sector in Catalonia.