Digital water treatment technology

A plug-and-play treatment system is bringing clean water to areas in Brazil that lack the necessary infrastructure

Spotted: According to UNICEF, contaminated water and poor sanitation are among the leading causes of death for children under five. One of the reasons for this dire statistic is that 844 million people do not have easy access to safe drinking water. And building water and sewage treatment facilities is expensive and impractical in rural areas that lack sanitation infrastructure.

Brazilian startup Augen Engenharia SA is working to make water treatment more accessible with a solution based on the Internet of Things (IoT). The technology, which works with water sources such as artesian wells, is designed to automate analysis and optimise dosages of chemical treatments. The company’s products are module-based and intuitive, making them easy to operate.

Augen’s plug-and-play system offers remote and automated water analysis, treatment, and management. This way, a customised water treatment solution can be developed for each water source, using Augen’s unique hardware and software.

Augen’s business model is focused on state or private sanitation companies, with treatment units of up to 600 litres per second. The company has recently raised R$4 million (around €739,000) in a funding round led by Brazil’s GovTech Fund, which is supported by Multilaser Industrial S.A., Positivo Tecnologia S.A., Agência de Fomento do Estado do Rio de Janeiro S.A. and Badesul Desenvolvimento S.A.

Claudio Gastal, president of Badesul Desenvolvimento commented that, “[Support for] Augen, through the Govtech Fund, aims to improve access to treated water for the population, with the intensive use of technology. We are developing projects to support the innovation and digitization of public services with the aim of generating development and expanding the improvement in the quality of life of the population.”

Safe water is a basic and essential human need, but too many people lack access to even this. Working to change this are innovations spotted in the Springwise archive, such as a low-energy method of purifying water and a membrane for cheap, sustainable water purification.

Written By: Lisa Magloff