SOCIEDAD DE FOMENTO AGRICOLA CASTELLONENSE S A

Their core work

FACSA is a Spanish water utility and environmental services company based in Castellón, operating in water treatment, supply, and reuse. In H2020, they contributed practical, industrial-scale expertise in wastewater treatment technologies — particularly membrane bioreactors and brine management. Their projects focus on turning wastewater challenges into resource recovery opportunities, bridging the gap between laboratory research and market-ready water treatment solutions. They bring real operational infrastructure and end-user validation to research consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

FACSA began with a practical focus on low-cost ceramic membrane bioreactors for wastewater reuse, tackling water scarcity with market-ready solutions (REMEB, 2015). By 2017, their interests broadened significantly: ZERO BRINE moved them into circular economy territory — recovering minerals and energy from industrial brine — while AQUAlity pushed them toward advanced contaminant detection and removal. The trajectory shows a clear shift from basic wastewater treatment toward value extraction from waste streams and addressing more complex water quality challenges.

FACSA is moving from conventional water treatment toward resource recovery and micropollutant management — aligning with EU priorities on circular economy and zero pollution.

How they like to work

FACSA balances leadership and partnership roles: they coordinated REMEB while joining ZERO BRINE and AQUAlity as participant and third party respectively. With 51 unique partners across 15 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia rather than small focused teams. Their value to consortia is as an industrial end-user who can validate technologies at real water treatment facilities, making them an attractive demonstration partner.

Despite only three projects, FACSA has built a broad European network spanning 51 partners in 15 countries, largely through large-scale Innovation Actions. Their connections are spread across Southern and Western Europe, with no single dominant geographic cluster.

What sets them apart

FACSA offers something many academic-heavy consortia lack: a real water utility with operational infrastructure where technologies can be tested and validated at scale. Based in water-scarce southeastern Spain, they bring genuine urgency and practical context to water reuse research. Their combination of industrial operations, coordination capability, and willingness to participate across the innovation chain — from training networks to market replication — makes them a versatile partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• REMEB
  Coordinated by FACSA with EUR 349K funding — demonstrates their ability to lead projects and their core competence in eco-friendly ceramic membranes made from recycled agricultural waste.
• ZERO BRINE
  Large-scale circular economy project (2017-2021) redesigning the water-minerals value chain — marks FACSA's strategic expansion from treatment to resource recovery.
• AQUAlity
  MSCA training network (2017-2022) on emerging contaminants — shows FACSA's engagement in advanced research and next-generation workforce development.