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Led by Viaqua, it is a project with public and private participation in which the companies Syspro Automation S.L.U. and Ednon S.L. and the technological centers Instituto Tecnológico de Galicia (ITG) and Cetaqua Galicia participate
This morning, Conecta Hubs EDAR 360 project for the digitalization of the water sector was presented. Viaqua, leader of the project, together with Syspro Automation S.L.U. and Ednon S.L, as well as the research centers Instituto Tecnológico de Galicia (ITG) and Cetaqua Galicia, organized a meeting in the City of Culture of Santiago de Compostela, in which representatives of the public administration did not want to be missing.
EDAR 360 will become a digital revolution in the coming years, which is a necessary transformation in the sector that becomes more relevant after the Government’s announcement of the implementation of the PERTE del Agua, which will involve an investment of 3,000 million euros until 2026 for the digitalization of the sector. This action aligns with the challenges identified by Europe in the NextGen funds.
The main objective of the project is to develop digital solutions that guarantee an optimal sanitation management, optimizing wastewater treatment processes. To reach this objective, EDAR 360 will have the talent and technologies that its partners provide. Artificial intelligence and data processing will be great allies to facilitate decision-making in the sector.
This event was chaired by the second vice president and conselleiro of Economy, Business and Innovation of the Xunta de Galicia, Francisco Conde, and the mayor of Santiago de Compostela, Xosé Sánchez Bugallo.
During his speech, Francisco Conde highlighted “The opportunity that the digitalization of water represents to improve the competitiveness of companies and recover the environmental impact”. For his part, Xosé Sánchez Bugallo, stated “The key is in technology and public-private collaboration, since it is companies that have the most advanced technologies”.
Iván Cacheiro, technician of Aguas de Galicia was the person in charge of starting the turn of presentations. In his presentation, he contextualized the moment in which the water sector in Galicia is located, its challenges, perspectives, and new strategic projects such as Innovaugas, focused on the advanced management of water resources.
EDAR 360 global presentation was given by Alberto Sánchez, Director of Transformation and Innovation at Viaqua, Miguel Carmody, Head of R&D at Syspro and Manuel Suárez, Head of R&D at Ednon. The three of them stressed “the weight of technology in this project and how data collection will help us make better decisions at key moments.”
After the presentation of EDAR 360 project, success stories of the sector such as Aquamundam, from the ITG, and Dinapsis, from the Agbar group were analyzed. Juan Sobreira of the ITG, and Alberto Sánchez of Viaqua, commented on the evolution and benefits of these projects for Galicia.
Alberto Sánchez underlined the importance of launching this type of projects and explained the success story of Dinapsis, “a digital suite that is nourished by the data captured thanks to 150 years of experience in the water sector”.
The event ended with a round table in which Teresa Gutiérrez, director of Augas de Galicia, Juan Sobreira, director of the ITG’s Open Innovation Division and Marcos Martín, director of Viaqua, participated. The three speakers explained the global challenges of the water sector in Galicia and the importance and role that short-term R&D plays in improving the management of the water cycle. “With the European Funds we have the opportunity to reactivate and improve the economy, betting on strategic sectors such as water,” said Marcos Martín, director of Viaqua. For her part, Teresa Gutiérrez, director of Augas de Galicia, foregrounded that “the great challenge of digitalization is how the data captured will be treated.” Finally, Juan Sobreita of the ITG, stressed the importance of “anticipating the problems that are already being raised from the European Union.”
About EDAR 360
EDAR 360 is an innovative, public-private project, coordinated by Viaqua in collaboration with the Galician technology-based companies Syspro Automation S.L.U. and Ednon S.L., as well as the research centers Instituto Tecnológico de Galicia (ITG) and Cetaqua Galicia, Fundación Centro Gallego de Investigaciones del Agua. It is part of the Conecta Hubs 2021 program, subsidized by the Galician Innovation Agency (GAIN) and co-financed by ERDF Funds within the framework of the Feder Galicia operational program 2014-2020. A multidisciplinary team will be one of the keys to success to achieve the objectives of the project.