Spanish SME developing electrical pulse technology to improve diesel combustion efficiency and cut emissions in maritime and road transport.
Aquasonic develops proprietary electrical pulse technology that fragments hydrocarbon chains in diesel fuel before combustion, improving fuel burn efficiency and reducing exhaust emissions. Their system is designed as an inline device that treats fuel in real time aboard maritime vessels and road transport vehicles, without requiring changes to the engine itself. They followed the classic SME Instrument path — Phase 1 feasibility study in 2015, then a larger Phase 2 scale-up project from 2018 to 2020 — suggesting the technology progressed from prototype to market-ready product during that period. Their core value proposition sits at the intersection of fuel cost reduction and emissions compliance, both of which are acute pressures in transport today.
Both AQUASONIC-diesel (2015) and AQUASONIC DIESEL (2018–2020) are built around the same core technology: using electrical pulses to break down hydrocarbon chains in diesel fuel prior to combustion.
The Phase 1 project (2015) explicitly targets maritime applications, and the Phase 2 project (2018–2020) lists maritime as a primary sector alongside road transport.
The 2018–2020 Phase 2 project expanded the technology's target market to include road transport in addition to maritime, suggesting adaptation of the core system for trucks or buses.
The sequential use of SME Instrument Phase 1 then Phase 2 indicates deliberate commercialisation planning, with the Phase 2 budget (€426,644) covering scale-up and market validation.
Aquasonic's H2020 trajectory is short but directional: they entered with a maritime-only proof of concept in 2015, then returned in 2018 with a significantly larger project that extended the same technology to road transport. This horizontal expansion — same core technology, broader application — suggests the team gained confidence in the physics and engineering of their pulse system and began pursuing larger addressable markets. No keyword data is available, so finer-grained thematic shifts cannot be traced, but the structural move from a €50K feasibility study to a €426K scale-up over three years points to a company in active commercialisation mode rather than exploratory research.
Aquasonic appears to be scaling a single proprietary technology across transport modes — maritime first, then road — which suggests future collaborations could extend to rail, aviation fuel systems, or industrial combustion wherever diesel efficiency and emissions compliance are regulated pressures.
Aquasonic coordinated their Phase 1 project independently, consistent with early-stage SME Instrument design where the company is the primary driver. They worked with only one unique consortium partner across both projects, and all collaboration stayed within one country, pointing to a tight, internally led development model rather than a network-building approach. For potential partners, this means they are likely the technology owner and lead — they will bring the core IP, and they expect partners to contribute validation capacity, testing infrastructure, or market access rather than co-developing the technology itself.
Aquasonic's H2020 network is minimal: one unique consortium partner across two projects, all within Spain. This is typical of SME Instrument projects, which are designed to fund single-company innovation, so the narrow network reflects the funding scheme more than any strategic choice to avoid collaboration.
Aquasonic occupies a specific and defensible niche: inline electrical pulse treatment of diesel fuel that requires no engine modification, targeting two regulated transport sectors simultaneously. Unlike university research groups working on alternative fuels or engine redesign, Aquasonic is a product company with a retrofit-compatible device — which dramatically lowers the barrier to adoption for fleet operators. The EU's validation through both SME Instrument phases provides third-party evidence that the technology has commercial merit, which is a meaningful signal for industrial partners considering a pilot.
