AQLARA INFRAESTRUCTURAS SA

Their core work

Aqlara Infraestructuras is a Spanish private company based in Valladolid specializing in water and wastewater infrastructure, with a strong focus on resource recovery and circular economy applications. They work on upgrading existing wastewater treatment plants to recover valuable materials like phosphorus, bioplastics, and cellulose, while also improving energy and water efficiency in industrial processes. More recently, they have moved into integrated biorefinery systems that convert complex organic municipal waste into high added-value products, positioning themselves at the intersection of water management, waste valorization, and industrial symbiosis.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 participation (2016-2018), Aqlara focused on benchmarking industrial water-energy efficiency and recovering specific bioresources (phosphorus, bioplastics, cellulose) from wastewater — essentially optimizing existing infrastructure. From 2018 onward, their work shifted toward more ambitious integrated systems: industrial symbiosis across sectors, advanced treatment technologies like nanoadsorption, and full-scale circular biorefinery from municipal organic waste. The trajectory shows a clear move from incremental improvement of water infrastructure toward large-scale circular economy systems that convert waste into commercially valuable products.

Aqlara is scaling up from water treatment optimization toward full circular economy systems, with their largest funding (EUR 2.1M) committed to urban organic waste biorefinery through 2027.

How they like to work

Aqlara participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator, which suggests they contribute specific infrastructure or operational expertise rather than driving project design. With 71 unique partners across 18 countries in just 4 projects, they work in large, diverse consortia — typical for Innovation Actions that require demonstration sites and multi-sector involvement. Their role likely involves providing real-world water infrastructure and demonstration facilities where consortium technologies are tested and validated.

Despite only 4 projects, Aqlara has built connections with 71 unique partners across 18 countries, reflecting involvement in large-scale demonstration consortia with broad European reach. Their network spans Western and Southern Europe, with strong links to water, waste, and circular economy research communities.

What sets them apart

Aqlara brings something many research consortia lack: operational water and waste infrastructure where technologies can be demonstrated at real scale. Their progression from benchmarking to biorefinery shows they are not just a passive demonstration host but an organization actively deepening its technical capacity in circular water-waste systems. For consortium builders, they offer a Spanish demonstration site with hands-on experience in wastewater resource recovery, industrial symbiosis, and municipal waste valorization.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CIRCULAR BIOCARBON
  Their largest project by far (EUR 2.1M of EUR 2.9M total funding), running through 2027, focused on flagship biorefinery from municipal organic waste — signals their strategic direction.
• Project O
  Demonstrated circular water reuse across multiple sectors (textile, food, agriculture, aquaculture), showcasing Aqlara's cross-sector integration capabilities.
• SMART-Plant
  Early project focused on scaling up material recovery from wastewater treatment plants, establishing Aqlara's core expertise in bioresource recovery.