University of Barcelona creates Electraqua Tech, a spin-off working to eliminate organic micropollutants from industrial wastewater
The European Union (EU) introduced new wastewater treatment rules this November. And the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries are responsible for 92% of the toxic load in industrial wastewater. To solve this problem and reduce the environmental impact, the EU drafted a revised directive that will hold the biggest polluters responsible for the cost of removing hazardous substances they put into urban wastewater systems.
Under this framework, the University of Barcelona (UB) has created Electraqua Tech, a spin-off that aims to develop and market systems to remove chemical compounds from industrial wastewater. The company has developed an innovative decontamination system that effectively turns bio-recalcitrant toxic pollutants into innocuous compounds.
Electraqua Tech will work to develop, design and launch to market comprehensive treatment systems for different types of wastewater. First of all, the goal is to focus on companies in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics sector to treat contaminated water at its origin, before it gets to an industrial or urban water treatment plant.
A more affordable, ecological system
Industrial wastewater treatment is currently done mainly with biological reactors. This technology, however, doesn’t eliminate persistent organic pollutants, such as the active ingredients in medicines, cosmetics and fragrances, for example.
The technology developed by the UB is an eco-friendly system based on on-site electrogeneration of strong oxidants, as it can be powered using renewable energy and minimises the use or need for chemical reactors. Plus, this innovative system can treat more water and consumes less power than other commercial products.
Electraqua Tech has been created from the research carried out by the UB Laboratory of Electrochemistry of Materials and Environment (LEMMA). This group is led by Dr Ignacio Sirés Sadornil, professor in the Faculty of Chemistry Department of Materials Science and Physical Chemistry and co-founder of the spin-off with Dr María Fernanda Murrieta Chagollán and Dr Birame Boye.
It must be noted that the technology this spin-off is using has been matured over years of research, having received various grants including the AGAUR Producte and AGAUR Innovadors grants from the Government of Catalonia, and the Barcelona Deep Tech Node Proof of Concept grant.
Technology from the field of ‘green tech’
According to Dr Sirés, “Starting down this road by creating a spin-off is a big challenge for us. The LEMMA group has accumulated a lot of experience in this field of research, and has now identified a good market opportunity to transfer the technology to an industrial environment.”
Dr Sirés also highlights the potential applications for electrochemical technology in industrial settings: “Environmental electrochemistry can have a significant role in the industrial arena, offering up a wide range of applications, as it is very eco-friendly.”
26 active spin-offs
Since 2001, the FBG has contributed to the creation of more than fifty emerging companies. In 2023, the University of Barcelona had a total of 26 active spin-offs that obtained around eleven million euros in funding in the course of the previous year.
The spin-offs of the UB, in 2023, generated more than 270 jobs, with which they have contributed to boosting the economy and creating employment in Catalonia. 30% of these jobs are occupied by UB alumni and university staff.
Caption (from left to right): Jose Conde, head of the Business Creation Area of the FBG; spin-off members Birame Boye, María Fernanda Murrieta and Ignacio Sirés; and Lurdes Jordi, director of the Innovation and Valorization Area of the FBG.