SODAQ HOLDING BV

Their core work

SODAQ is a Dutch IoT hardware company that designs and manufactures compact sensing devices and open source hardware for environmental and health monitoring applications. In H2020 projects, they contribute hardware components — particularly sensor boards and connectivity modules — that enable large-scale data collection in citizen science and urban health studies. Their devices are deployed in projects measuring air quality, personal exposure to pollutants, and community-driven environmental observation, bridging the gap between professional-grade sensing and accessible, field-deployable hardware.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

SODAQ's H2020 participation spans only 2019–2021 start dates, so the evolution window is narrow but revealing. Their earliest project (OPEN_NEXT, 2019) focused on open source hardware development processes and community-driven product design. By 2020–2021, their projects shifted decisively toward applied sensing — urban health exposure monitoring (EXPANSE) and citizen-driven air quality measurement (CompAir), indicating a move from hardware methodology to domain-specific environmental and health applications.

SODAQ is moving from general-purpose IoT hardware toward purpose-built environmental and health monitoring devices, positioning themselves as a go-to hardware partner for citizen science and urban health projects.

How they like to work

SODAQ operates exclusively as a participant, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a specialist hardware provider embedded in larger research consortia. With 53 unique partners across just 3 projects, they work in large, diverse consortia (averaging ~18 partners per project). This suggests they are comfortable as a focused contributor delivering specific hardware components within complex multi-partner frameworks, rather than driving project direction.

Despite only three projects, SODAQ has built a broad network of 53 partners across 17 countries, reflecting the large-scale nature of the consortia they join. Their reach is pan-European with no visible geographic concentration.

What sets them apart

SODAQ occupies a rare niche as an SME that can deliver production-ready IoT sensing hardware within research consortia — most hardware in EU projects comes from prototyping labs or large electronics firms. Their open source hardware philosophy means consortium partners can adapt and extend devices rather than treating them as black boxes. For any project needing deployable, low-power environmental or health sensors at scale, SODAQ offers a ready supply chain that most academic partners cannot match.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EXPANSE
  A major 5-year health research initiative studying how urban environments affect cardiometabolic and pulmonary health — positions SODAQ's hardware in high-impact epidemiological research.
• CompAir
  Citizen science air quality project combining community participation with IoT sensing — demonstrates SODAQ's ability to make scientific instruments accessible to non-experts.
• OPEN_NEXT
  Directly focused on open source hardware development models, reflecting SODAQ's core philosophy and differentiating them from closed-source hardware suppliers.