AIGUES DE BARCELONA, EMPRESA METROPOLITANA DE GESTIO DEL CICLE INTEGRAL DE L'AIGUA SA

Their core work

Aigues de Barcelona is the metropolitan water utility serving the Barcelona metropolitan area, responsible for the full urban water cycle — from sourcing and treatment to distribution and wastewater management. In H2020 projects, they contribute as a real-world testbed and operational partner, bringing practical expertise in drinking water quality management, climate adaptation for water systems, and infrastructure protection. Their participation spans water resource management under climate stress (BINGO), drinking water contamination monitoring (NaToxAq, WATERPROTECT), and cyber-physical security of water networks (STOP-IT).

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their H2020 trajectory shows a shift from conventional water management challenges toward security and resilience. The earliest project (BINGO, 2015) focused on climate-driven water management, while the later projects (2017 onward) moved into contamination monitoring, environmental protection, and notably cyber-physical infrastructure security. This progression mirrors the broader European water sector's growing concern with infrastructure resilience beyond just supply reliability.

Moving toward integrated water infrastructure resilience — combining physical, chemical, and cyber threat dimensions — making them a strong partner for security-of-supply research.

How they like to work

Aigues de Barcelona consistently participates as a partner or third party rather than leading consortia, which is typical for a utility company that contributes operational infrastructure, real-world data, and validation environments rather than driving research agendas. With 89 unique partners across 19 countries from just 4 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia. This profile suggests they are sought after as a demonstration and validation partner — a real utility willing to open its operations for research testing.

Despite only four projects, they have built a broad network of 89 partners across 19 countries, reflecting participation in large-scale RIA and IA consortia. Their geographic connections span across Europe with no narrow regional clustering.

What sets them apart

As the water utility serving one of Europe's largest and most water-stressed metropolitan areas, Aigues de Barcelona offers something most research partners cannot: a live, large-scale urban water system as a testing ground. Their willingness to engage in EU research — from climate modelling to cybersecurity — signals an organization open to piloting and validating innovations at operational scale. For any consortium needing a major Mediterranean utility as an end-user validation site, they are a natural fit.

Highlights from their portfolio

• STOP-IT
  Their largest funded contribution (EUR 244,738), addressing the increasingly critical topic of cyber-physical security for water infrastructure — an unusual and forward-looking focus for a water utility.
• BINGO
  Their earliest H2020 project, directly tackling climate change impacts on ongoing water management — core to Barcelona's real water stress challenges.
• WATERPROTECT
  Bridges the urban-rural divide in water protection, positioning the utility at the intersection of agriculture and municipal water supply.