Spanish water technology research centre specialising in smart water management, contamination response, wastewater treatment, and circular economy solutions.
CETAQUA is a Spanish water technology research centre that develops applied solutions for water management, treatment, and reuse. Their work spans the full water cycle — from drinking water quality monitoring and urban resilience to wastewater treatment, nutrient recovery, and contamination response. They bridge the gap between water utilities, municipalities, and research by delivering smart data tools, risk assessment frameworks, and circular economy approaches for water systems. They also bring electrochemical treatment technologies to industrial wastewater challenges, notably in the oil and gas sector.
Core theme across RESCCUE (climate resilience in urban areas), B-WaterSmart (water smartness in coastal Europe), IMPREX (hydrological extremes), and BINGO (water management under climate change).
CYTO-WATER developed portable pathogen detection, PathoCERT addressed emergency contamination response, and WQeMS built lake water quality monitoring using Copernicus satellite data.
B-WaterSmart focuses on water reuse and resource recovery, WalNUT on nutrient recovery from wastewater for biofertiliser production, and EPC-EqTech on industrial wastewater treatment.
STOP-IT addressed cyber-physical threats to water infrastructure, while PathoCERT developed emergency response technologies for pathogen contamination events.
EPC-EqTech — their only coordinated project — develops electrochemical treatment for spent caustic from oil and gas, signalling a push into industrial applications.
In the early H2020 period (2015–2018), CETAQUA focused on climate adaptation and risk management — understanding how climate change impacts water systems and building prediction tools for hydrological extremes. From 2020 onward, they shifted decisively toward smart water technologies, circular economy principles, and applied digital tools (living labs, smart data solutions, Copernicus satellite integration). Their most recent work also shows expansion into industrial wastewater treatment and nutrient recovery, moving from understanding risks to delivering operational solutions.
CETAQUA is moving from climate risk assessment toward actionable smart water solutions and industrial wastewater valorisation — expect them to pursue digital water management and resource recovery projects next.
CETAQUA operates primarily as an active partner in large European consortia, having participated in 7 projects versus coordinating just 1 (EPC-EqTech). With 165 unique consortium partners across 21 countries, they function as a well-connected hub rather than sticking to a small circle of repeat collaborators. This pattern suggests they are a reliable technical contributor that large consortia seek out for water expertise, rather than a consortium-building leader — though their coordination of EPC-EqTech hints at growing ambition to lead.
CETAQUA has built an extensive European network of 165 unique partners spanning 21 countries, reflecting broad geographic reach across EU water research. Their partnerships are diverse rather than concentrated, making them a versatile connector in the water technology space.
CETAQUA sits at a rare intersection: a private foundation with deep applied research capabilities dedicated entirely to water. Unlike university labs that publish papers or consultancies that advise, CETAQUA develops and tests operational water technologies — from satellite-based monitoring to electrochemical treatment — in real utility and industrial settings. Their connection to Spanish water utilities (particularly in the Barcelona metropolitan area) gives them access to full-scale demonstration infrastructure that most research centres lack.
