CONTINUOUS MONITORING SYSTEM FOR REAL-TIME DETECTION OF WATER HAMMER AND REDUCTION OF WATER LEAKAGES

Project Information

THOR

Grant agreement ID: 770975

DOI

10.3030/770975

Project closed

EC signature date 12 May 2017

Start date 1 May 2017

End date 31 August 2017

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

TECLAB - SRL
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - THOR (CONTINUOUS MONITORING SYSTEM FOR REAL-TIME DETECTION OF WATER HAMMER ANDREDUCTION OF WATER LEAKAGES)

Reporting period: 2017-05-01 to 2017-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Water losses in networks due to breakage caused by water hammer- a pressure surge caused when a fluid in motion is forced to stop or change direction suddenly- represents a huge economic loss for public and private bodies. THOR is an integrated and continuous water distribution monitoring system capable of detecting in real-time its occurrence. The repair costs will be reduced because of adoption of preventive maintenance along with the cost savings due to lower manpower requirements. Our main objectives for the successful industrialization and commercialization of THOR are: assess the market of water monitoring systems (with its barriers, drivers, best segments and target countries), evaluate the technical specifications of THOR components and their supply-chain, identify any innovation legally protected that may risk our project (IP), analyse the applicable regulations and design a strong business plan.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Achieving certifications is crucial for an unrestricted commercialization, along with the development of relationships with suppliers of the materials needed. In addition, a FTO analysis has been performed to guarantee that THOR project can be commercialised without risking our IP. We developed a cost analysis for the completion of the system specifications and the integration of collaborative software and GPS synchronization. We analysed the new targeted markets to evaluate their volume, end users and the best penetration strategy. We performed a risk assessment to make sure that the most relevant risks are identified and a contingency plan set. Several potential customers have expressed their interest in purchasing our new system. We also value trade fairs and demonstration activities as a business opportunity to attract our customers and we will take advantage of them to establish commercial agreements.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Our ultimate objective with THOR project is to offer the most accurate failure detection system in water market, leading to preventive maintenance practices which will imply 15% reduction in maintenance costs and 23% reduction in water distribution system downtime. THOR addresses a gap in the market and also tackles worldwide challenges (efficient use of water reserves, ensure smooth water supply in every region). From this FS we expect to develop several relationships with key players within the European water market, become a technological reference in water management and reach €1,8 million turnover with 27 direct employees by 2022.

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