New Water Softener System for vending machines, minimizing hardness without altering natural water pH nor minerals

Project Information

LIMONA

Grant agreement ID: 832117

DOI

10.3030/832117

Project closed

EC signature date 4 December 2018

Start date 1 November 2018

End date 28 February 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

WF SRL
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LIMONA (New Water Softener System for vending machines, minimizing hardness without altering natural water pH nor minerals)

Reporting period: 2018-11-01 to 2019-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Water softening is a key activity in almost any equipment handling water. This is particularly relevant for the vending machines, where hard water is responsible for up to 70% of equipment failure. Therefore, they require water softeners not only to prevent limescale build-up and corrosion (less breakdown/downtime), but also to ensure a premium quality of water when it is used in cold and hot beverages.
Current water filters for vending machines present several limitations; they change the chemical composition of water, their performance is affected by the water hardness level, they need significant space occupation, their installation and maintenance must be done by professionals and they have high replacement rates and reduced time life.
LIMONA is the new water softener line developed by W.F. Focusing upon vending machines and their applications, our patented filters extract Calcium bicarbonates without changing water natural characteristics nor consuming any water or electricity in the process. With 3.8 million machines in Europe, 33.5 billion vends a year and annual revenue of 15 billion €, the vending machine market has a major impact on Europe’s economy and society. In this project, we are developing a new range of water softening systems and family products grouped by application, treatment capacity and the water temperature at which they operate.

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

Thank to this Phase 1, Water Filters hast set the technical specifications of the new product series, defined the cost structure and designed the roadmap for the final product development. In addition, we have assessed the feasibility of transferring the technology into a new application field, the household water softening market.
During this feasibility study, we have performed an in-depth market analysis and customer segmentation, and we have identified the primary markets for product introduction. We have defined the Business Plan for our two principal product lines (LIMONA PRO and PRIME for vending machines and LIMONA DOM1 and DOM2 for domestic applications), elaborated the pricing strategy and designed the growth strategy for product industrialization. Finally, we have filled a patent to protect our new filters to be used in beverage dispensing machines.

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 invention proposes a new solution to overcome the problems of current filtering media in vending machines. The structure design favours the correct positioning of the filter and enables the media to be always kept in the middle zone without it resting on the bottom filter, allowing optimal performance. Another innovation is the filtering media, based on Ceramic Water Scale Removing (CWSR) technology, a media of microspheres that are electrically charged and with a very uneven surface during production. Unlike current state-of-the art systems, LIMONA filters are light and small sized and very easy to install.
The impact of this project in our company has the potential to double our headcount and increase annual production over 70,000 units for LIMONA products treating hot beverages in vending machines and household water supply.

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