SOCRATIC: A real-time effluent management software based on artificial intelligence and industrial automation, specific for the prevention of combined sewage overflow

Informations projet

SOCRATIC

N° de convention de subvention: 875981

DOI

10.3030/875981

Projet clôturé

Date de signature de la CE 5 Août 2019

Date de début 1 Août 2019

Date de fin 30 Novembre 2019

Financé au titre de

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Coût total

€ 71 429,00

Contribution de l’UE

€ 50 000,00

Coordonné par

IXSANE
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SOCRATIC (SOCRATIC: A real-time effluent management software based on artificial intelligence and industrial automation, specific for the prevention of combined sewage overflow)

Période du rapport: 2019-08-01 au 2019-11-30

Résumé du contexte et des objectifs généraux du projet

Combined Sewer Overflow – CSO - is the release excess flow from combined sewage systems into receiving water bodies caused by rainfalls. CSO carries chemical and microbiological pollution, hazardous substance and waste, affecting the quality of water and environment. Although the environmental pollution due to CSO, there are not on the market specific solutions for the prevention of CSOs affordable for all kind of communities (as construction of new storage capacities are long and expensive) or working accurately in real-time (as software-based solutions are only focused on flood episodes and use weather forecast and slow calculating hydrological models). On the other side, the smart water segment is a niche segment valued at € 16.48 Billion at European level (CAGR of 33.9%).

Aiming to tackle this challenge, we present SOCRATIC, a real time effluent management solution that, based on artificial intelligence and industrial automation, provides a fast, automated and reliable solution for the prevention of CSOs. SOCRATIC is affordable solution that reduces by 80% the number of CSO events and provides savings up to 90% traditional solutions.

We have planned several activities to bring SOCRATIC to its TRL9 and to ensure a successful commercialization by Q3 2022. Technical objectives include the enhancement and packetization of the artificial intelligence algorithms (according to customers’ size, climate conditions, main issues, etc.) for obtaining a full range of SOCRATIC commercial products, the seamless integration of SOCRATIC with standard IT technologies to ensure its scalability, and the validation of SOCRATIC in real environments. Commercial activities involve a revision of the business strategy, commercialization agreements and distribution agreements. Communication objectives focus on the development of commercial materials, website and newsletters and presence in trade fairs.

This project has had as main goals to assess the technical feasibility of the objectives listed above, the commercial viability of our value proposition and the financial requirements of adjusting our current SOCRATIC solution to better serve the needs of our customers.

Travail effectué depuis le début du projet jusqu’à la fin de la période considérée dans le rapport et principaux résultats atteints jusqu’à présent

We validated the technical, the commercial and the financial feasibility of our innovation project, and established a plan for a global commercialization.

Technically, we analysed how we are going the enhance our current SOCRATIC solution according to customers’ needs and market trends, to offer an innovative game-changing effluent management solution. We established the roadmap to reach TRL9 and to keep improving our solution implementing the best features to truly empower our customers.

Our market research aimed to analyse the solutions on the market that solve the problem of CSO (mainly grouped into retention structures, rain waters harvesting, and dynamic management of the sewage network) and the needs of our target customers (mainly municipalities). We thoroughly analysed our target markets and identified key market drivers that will fuel the adoption of our solution. We analysed key market barriers and risks and established their mitigation actions. We studied our competition landscape and our freedom-to-operate analysis validated that our technology does not infringe any existing patent. To speed-up post-project sales, we fine-tuned our commercialization strategy and established agreements and plans with a carefully thought commercial partners. Finally, we shaped our projected sales revenues from Q3-2022 to Q3-2028.

Progrès au-delà de l’état des connaissances et impact potentiel prévu (y compris l’impact socio-économique et les conséquences sociétales plus larges du projet jusqu’à présent)

SOCRATIC is a smart effluent management solution that provides a fast, automated and reliable solution for the prevention of CSOs. Different to other solutions, SOCRATIC is specially designed to prevent CSO and it performs accurate and reliable results under all rain conditions (not only under heavy rain conditions) and, besides, SOCRATIC offers a solution customized for the needs of all kind of communities (not only aimed to big communities or large cities). While new infrastructures for higher retention capacities for rainwater cost around 750-1,000 € per m3 of stored water, SOCRATIC reaches 75 € - 100 € per m3. This allows also to small communities to implement our solution and secure environmental conditions on a tight mesh over the territory. Small communities are getting more important due to the trend of population moving from urban areas towards towns and rural areas.

CSOs contain chemical and microbiological pollution, hazardous substances and plastic litter, which can pose a health risk to humans, animals and the environment. The magnitude of the impacts of polluted CSOs depends on the frequency, duration and severity of CSO events, as well the quality of the excess water that is being discharged. The environmental impact of a CSO event is defined by the conditions of the receiving water body. Water bodies that are most at risk for CSO are water bodies that have one or more of the following characteristics: rivers with good or high ecological status and good or high chemical status, small or seasonal streams and stagnant waters. In addition, the risk to human health is higher where people are exposed to the polluted water, e.g. through bathing or other water-related leisure. Moreover, reducing CSO events means also reduce the hazard, i.e. illness in new-born infants, waterborne disease, toxicities, death of fishes.

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