Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ColiSense Online (Online and automated E. coli monitoring for 100% safe drinking water)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2018-03-01 al 2018-06-30
The presence of E. coli in drinking water is a clear indication of fecal contamination and makes the water unsafe to drink. More than 300,000 cases of waterborne disease due to microbiological contamination are reported yearly in Europe according to the WHO. bNovate Technologies AG aims to bring to industrial production stage ColiSense, a quick (60 min), inexpensive (€1 per analysis) and accurate analyzer capable of detecting and quantifying E. coli cells in drinking water below the regulation threshold limits (1 cell per 100 ml). The technology behind ColiSense is flow cytometry, technology that bNovate has brought for the first time to industrial scale in a fully-automated manner.
During our 4-month Feasibility Study several activities have been carried out. First, the technical specifications of ColiSense’s subsystems have been defined. Following, a risk analysis has been conducted to ensure that no issues have been left aside and that future development will be with a low and controlled risk. Our team prepared a complete Execution Plan for the development and exploitation of ColiSense; we also identified the most beneficial partners to support us in the execution and exploitation of the Phase 2 project. Regarding commercial feasibility assessment, we have focused on the potential new markets which has allowed us to prepare our marketing and pricing strategy. Furthermore, a complete Freedom-to-Operate was performed and confirmed 1) the novelty of the ColiSense and 2) the absence of existing thread for its commercialization. Finally, financial projections for the 2021-2026 period have been calculated, and we expect a highly positive turnover.
We have designed a commercialisation strategy covering a wide range of end-user industries. Our targeted sectors are waterworks and bottled water industries which, together, cover almost the entire drinking water production market. ColiSense meets the real needs of our customers such as: 1) being compliant with EU legislation, 2) fast E. coli detection (60 min), 3) low operation and maintenance cost; 4) easy to use (no qualified personnel is needed to operate it), and 5) low investment cost (4 years amortization). The Return on Investment (ROI) of ColiSense is 4.68 taken into account the total investment and the accumulated profit. Pay-back of the project will be achieved at the second year of commercialization.