Innovation in water-related technologies
According to the United Nations, 2.2 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water as of 2022, while 3.5 billion lacked safely managed sanitation services. The situation is projected to worsen significantly by 2050 if current trends persist.
Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030. This goal encompasses a broad spectrum of targets designed to address the global water crisis. They focus on improving water quality, increasing water-use efficiency and ensuring equitable access to drinking water and sanitation services. Key goals include achieving universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water, ending open defecation, substantially increasing water-use efficiency across all sectors and implementing integrated water resources management at all levels.
Critical components in the pursuit of achieving SDG 6 are technologies related to water treatment (SDG 6.3), potable water harvesting (SDG 6.1) and efficient water utilisation (SDG 6.4). These technologies address key aspects of SDG 6 by improving access to clean water, enhancing water quality and promoting the efficient use of water resources.
Although water is crucial for life, people and the economy, it can also have a dangerous impact, leading to catastrophic events. Water-related disasters have dominated the list of natural disasters over the past 50 years, accounting for 70% of all deaths related to such events. The frequency of water-related hazards has increased over the past 20 years, with flood-related disasters rising by 134% since 2000, reports the World Bank Group. These disasters not only cause loss of life but also have a significant negative economic impact. For instance, floods have killed over 250 000 people since 1980 and caused over USD 1 trillion in damage, accounting for about 40% of natural catastrophe losses. Therefore, it is not only important to ensure access to clean water and sanitation, but also to develop and implement technologies that protect society and infrastructure from water hazards.
Indeed, the UN is observing that due to climate change, both floods and droughts are becoming more frequent and extreme, affecting more and more people adversely. In response, the EU Green Week 2024 is themed Towards a water resilient Europe.
Espacenet platform gives easy access to patents on water
The free platform allows you to:
- Identify patents mapped to over 75 relevant concepts of water provision and conservation, along with bibliographic information (e.g. title, abstract, applicants, inventors and more).
- Effortlessly display descriptive statistics for each water technology concept (e.g. patent counts per year, applicant, inventor, country and technology class).
- Retrieve the Espacenet query used to identify patents within a given water technology concept and tailor it to your specific needs (e.g. broaden or narrow the search).
Deep Tech Finder
The EPO has updated its free Deep Tech Finder to help investors and potential partners connect with over 100 investment-ready European startups with European patent applications for water-related inventions. This free online tool now contains profiles for over 8 500 European startups active in dozens of technologies, from digital technologies to healthcare and from clean energy to space exploration.
Study shows Europe at the forefront of innovation in water-related technologies
- A small, but growing technology field
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Innovation in water-related technologies increased almost fourfold in thirty years, from 300 annual IPFs in the early 1990s to over 1 200 in the 2020s, often driven by new regulations or changes to existing regulations. This growth aligns with the overall rate of patenting activity over that period, yet it lags behind the pace of many other clean technology sectors.
- European countries play a major role in fostering innovation in water-related technologies
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They contributed 40% of all IPFs in this sector between 1992 and 2021 and hold leading positions in all water technology fields. Europe is the only global innovation centre exhibiting a comparatively high level of specialisation in water-related technologies.
- Europe has six companies among the top 15 applicants
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The primary focus of the top companies has been in water treatment technologies. The majority of the leaders in water-related technologies are large conglomerates that are active in many different industries.
- Universities and public research organisations (PROs) are increasingly contributing to water-related technology innovations
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Potable water harvesting emerges as the field with the highest share of IPFs from universities and PROs.
Inventors in water-related technologies
The European Inventor Award pays tribute to inventors who are making the world a better place. Meet some finalists who have been recognised for their contributions in the field of water.
The EPO has been honouring inventors in the field of water-related technologies for some time.
Closed-loop shower to save water and energy
Mehrdad Mahdjoubi
Mehrdad Mahdjoubi's space-age shower is changing the way we think about domestic water usage, particularly in the bathroom. The Oas, a closed-loop system, was conceived while Mahdjoubi was working on NASA's Journey to Mars project. It filters and reuses water to consume 90% less water and 80% less energy than a conventional shower.
Concrete mould for better breakwaters
Antonio Corredor Molguero and Carlos Fermín Menéndez Díaz
Spanish inventors Antonio Corredor Molguero and Carlos Fermin Menéndez didn’t break the mould – they totally reinvented it. Their unique method of producing specially shaped concrete blocks to protect harbours can reduce breakwater construction costs by between 15% and 45% - and offers coastal areas better protection.
Supersponge for oil spills
Günter Hufschmid
Thanks to a chance discovery, the world has a new superweapon in the fight against oil and chemical spills. It is a synthetic wax engineered by Günter Hufschmid and his team at German company Deurex. It can adsorb close to seven times its own weight in hydrophobic liquids without taking on any water itself, making it an ideal tool for cleaning up spills and leaks wherever they occur – whether it's on the floor of a mechanic's garage or around an oil-drilling platform at sea.
Energy-efficient water purification
Peter Holme Jensen, Claus Hélix-Nielsen and Danielle Keller
The high-tech electronics industry has developed an unquenchable thirst for “ultrapure” water (UPW), but conventional water filtration methods prove highly energy consuming and unsustainable. Modelled on naturally occurring water-purifying proteins, so-called aquaporins, the water filters invented by Danish inventor Holme Jensen and his team provide an energy-efficient method for supplying ultrapure water on an industrial scale.
Jet regulator for water taps
Hermann Grether, Christoph Weis
Conserve water – save the planet! To stop wastage from bathroom and kitchen taps without compromising on the comfort we have come to expect, German engineers Hermann Grether and Christoph Weis at Neoperl invented a water-jet regulator, marketed internationally by the German-Swiss company.
UV water disinfection device
Ashok Gadgil, Vikas Garud
Various water purification systems exist, but their cost and requirement for a pre-existing infrastructure prevent them from being available to the developing world.
Removing microplastics from water
Fionn Ferreira
Twenty-two-year-old environmentalist Fionn Ferreira is tackling microplastics pollution with his magnet-based method, which extracts microplastics from water quickly, safely and without harm.
Rolling fluid turbine
Miroslav Sedláček
The novel hydropower turbine invented by Czech civil engineer Miroslav SedláÄek at the Czech Technical University in Prague unlocks potential for electricity generation from waterways with low velocity such as brooks and small streams, thereby opening up a wide range of previously unexplored sources of sustainable energy.