India's fast-growing cities are faced with the task of modernizing their water supply and wastewater disposal systems. In order to support German companies in opening up the Indian market, the AQUA-Hub project is implementing two Water Innovation Hubs in selected "smart cities" and flanking them with demonstrations of German measurement technology.
India's fast-growing cities face complex challenges in the expansion and modernisation of water supply and wastewater disposal systems. Many German companies have specialised knowledge and technologies that can contribute to addressing these challenges. However, these technology providers often have difficulties to establish themselves on the Indian market. The AQUA-Hub project aims at bridging these challenges through increased collaboration and exposure to solutions "Made in Germany" solutions. AQUA-Hub builds on the demands communicated by the German and Indian stakeholders, assessed in the predecessor project "Smart Water Future India".
Water Innovation Hubs will be realised in the two "Smart Cities" Coimbatore and Solapur and will be accompanied by demonstrations of German monitoring technology to act as showcases for increased market awareness. The Water Innovation Hubs serve to promote Indo-German cooperation in the water sector and provide support in initiating business relationships. In addition, they serve as an anchor centre for demonstration projects.
In Coimbatore, for example, the implementation of an online water monitoring systems for local surface waters is pursued. The IGB is responsible for the selection of parameters and sensor technology, technical advice on the conception as well as the evaluation of the analyses and derivation of recommendations for action.
In Solapur, the local Innovation Hub is linked to the pilot project Smart Water Quality Monitoring in Solapur. In the course of the project, potentials for a sustainable business model of the Water Innovation Hub as well as the transferability to other regions in India will be investigated.
Fraunhofer IGB is coordinating the project in close cooperation with the project partners Umwelttechnik BW GmbH and the Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE).
AQUA-Hub – Cooperation with India through water innovation hubs
November 2020 – June 2023
We would like to thank the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) for funding the project "AQUA-Hub", promotional reference 16EXI4021A. within the "Export initiative for environmental technologies" program.
Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB