Sending wastewater to treatment plants is good. But collecting and recycling that same water on-site is better! AquaTech Innovation is convinced of this. This innovative start-up, based in Montpellier since 2018, offers local authorities, marinas, and campsites patented solutions for reusing water on-site. With the crucial challenge of water preservation.
What do Marina Baie des Anges in the Alpes-Maritimes, St. Katharine Docks in central London, and Tohapi campsite in the northeast of Hérault have in common? At first glance, not much, except for their tourist appeal. But upon closer inspection, we also see that all three are infrastructures that have turned to AquaTech Innovation.
Intervening in fragile environments
The company branded as "green tech" – or ecotech – offers solutions tailored to each situation in the collection, treatment, and recycling of wastewater. And the very British director of the aforementioned English port seems quite satisfied with the work accomplished in this case. Even if he admits, at first, he did not "really trust working with a French company."
However, the study, immersion, proposals, and installations provided by the French water technicians have shown him that he was right to dismiss his initial fears. A multi-point pumping service with 4,800 meters of underwater network has indeed been designed in this classified port. One of AquaTech Innovation's characteristics is to tackle often sensitive situations: protected natural areas, limited land, strict and complex regulations...
Above all, the problem that the start-up is addressing is a crucial issue for the coming years: that of water preservation. It is estimated that by 2025, which is tomorrow, 1.8 billion people will live in countries or regions where water scarcity will be a reality. Two-thirds of the world's population will be under water stress. This reality will no longer only affect regions that have been lacking or deprived of water since time immemorial. It will be a fate that concerns each of us.
An indispensable resource to protect
The growing density of the population on Earth, which will reach 10 billion by 2050, increases water consumption accordingly. Pollution and climate change contribute to the depletion of this resource. We believe it is eternal since it flows easily from the taps in our kitchens and bathrooms. But forgetting its fragility, we continue to waste it without counting.
It is therefore urgent to find alternatives. Geneviève Marais understood this well when she laid the foundations of AquaTech Innovation in 2018. At over 40 years old, this woman, who had previously worked in service provision, wanted to give a new meaning to her life. "I wanted to reconnect with the values that mattered to me and work for the environment by developing something concrete." It would be in the field of water.
"It is an indispensable resource that touches our emotions, unlike fire, which is frightening, and air, which remains abstract. Water is blue, playful, and about swimming..." The director of AquaTech Innovation realizes that the issue of water particularly affects tourism professionals. "We focused on port infrastructures and outdoor hospitality. We support them throughout the entire water cycle."
The start-up's teams go to collect wastewater wherever it is found. "The challenge for a port, for example, is that the boater who produces his effluents on board his boat stores them in a tank. It is up to us to find a solution to collect them and return them to the city network."
Managing water resources
Another mission of AquaTech Innovation: the treatment of wastewater. "This is part of the legal obligations for sanitation of establishments in all constrained environments. This can translate into the establishment of a floating treatment station. We therefore provide a response to an in situ need," explains Geneviève Marais.
Then comes the question of recycling. "We will solve water pressure issues only with water reuse solutions." AquaTech Innovation has therefore developed patented products. Like AquaPool, a recycling solution for aquatic spaces often found in campsites. The rinsing water from filters is collected and, after treatment, reinjected into the pool. "With AquaReUse, we will provide recycling solutions for watering green spaces, supplying toilets, cleaning surfaces...", continues Geneviève Marais.
And she adds: "We have an internal electronic management unit that adapts to each of our products. Because ports and campsites have no idea of their water consumption." The digital solution allows the operator to have a tool, designed by water experts, to manage this resource.
After a successful fundraising at the end of 2023, the start-up aims to solidify its activities, optimize and develop its production to become a reference in the field of wastewater recycling. France is lagging behind in this regard. Only 1% of its flows are treated compared to 9% in Spain and an average of 5% in the European Union.
