EMPRESA MUNICIPAL DE AGUAS Y SANEAMIENTO DE MURCIA SA

Their core work

EMUASA is the municipal water and sanitation company for the city of Murcia, responsible for drinking water supply, treatment, distribution, and wastewater management at urban scale. In EU research projects, they participate as an operational end-user and infrastructure owner — the type of partner that brings a live city-scale water system into the research process, rather than laboratory conditions. Their contributions span two distinct domains: using their water pumping infrastructure as a controllable energy load to support smart grid flexibility, and deploying satellite-based monitoring tools to track drinking water quality and respond to extreme weather events. They bridge the gap between research prototypes and real municipal operations.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (MAGNITUDE, 2017–2021), EMUASA's contribution was framed entirely around energy: smart grids, renewable integration, demand flexibility, and business models for energy markets — indicating they were engaged as an energy-flexible infrastructure asset rather than for water expertise. By their second project (WQeMS, 2021–2023), the focus shifted completely to their core business: drinking water quality, satellite monitoring of open water bodies, in-situ data collection, and emergency water safety protocols. The shift is clean and deliberate — they moved from being a supporting player in energy research to a central operational partner in water management research.

EMUASA is orienting toward climate-resilient water management, combining satellite remote sensing with operational water safety planning — a trajectory well aligned with EU water security priorities and Copernicus programme expansion.

How they like to work

EMUASA has never coordinated an H2020 project, consistently joining as a participant — the role of an operational partner that validates and implements technologies developed by research-heavy consortium members. With 25 unique partners across 12 countries from just 2 projects, they clearly participate in large, multi-partner RIA consortia where their value is practitioner credibility and real infrastructure access. For a research partner, working with EMUASA means gaining access to a functioning municipal water system for testing — which is precisely what EU project reviewers look for when assessing real-world impact.

From only 2 projects, EMUASA has accumulated 25 consortium partners spanning 12 countries — well above average for an organization of their type — reflecting participation in sizeable pan-European RIA consortia. Their network is European in breadth despite their strongly regional operational base in southeastern Spain.

What sets them apart

EMUASA's value in a research consortium is not scientific output but operational reality: they manage a live urban water system in a semi-arid Mediterranean city, making them a credible test environment for water-energy technologies under real climate stress conditions. Very few municipal water utilities participate in EU research, which makes EMUASA a rare find for consortium builders who need an end-user with genuine infrastructure. Their crossover between energy flexibility and water quality gives them an unusual dual-sector profile that opens doors in both water and energy research calls.

Highlights from their portfolio

• WQeMS
  Represents EMUASA's most direct alignment with their core mission, deploying Copernicus/Sentinel-2 satellite data for emergency monitoring of drinking water sources — a strong fit for future climate-adaptation and space-application consortia.
• MAGNITUDE
  Demonstrates an unusual capability for a water utility — contributing pumping infrastructure as a flexible energy asset within a multi-energy-carrier smart grid project, making EMUASA relevant to energy transition research well beyond the water sector.