SciTransfer
CompAir · Project

Low-Cost Air Quality Sensors and Digital Twins That Turn Citizen Data Into City Decisions

environmentPilotedTRL 7
wecompair.eu

Imagine handing thousands of residents cheap, easy-to-build air quality sensors and letting them map pollution street by street — filling in all the blind spots official monitoring stations miss. CompAir did exactly that across Athens, Berlin, Sofia, and Flanders. The data feeds into a digital twin of the city so officials and businesses can see pollution patterns in real time and act on them. It also comes with dashboards and augmented reality tools so anyone — not just scientists — can understand what the numbers mean.

By the numbers
4 pilot locations
Cities where the system was tested (Flanders, Athens, Berlin, Sofia)
EUR 4,686,189
Total EU contribution to the project
16 partners
Consortium size across 6 countries
43 deliverables
Total project deliverables produced
3 prototype versions
Digital twin iterations (closed alpha, open beta, open public)
6 SMEs
Small and medium enterprises in the consortium
The business problem

What needed solving

Cities and businesses lack granular, street-level air quality data because official monitoring stations are expensive and sparse — they cover major intersections but miss the neighbourhood-level pollution patterns that affect health, real estate values, and regulatory compliance. Without dense data, city planners make decisions based on incomplete pictures, and companies building smart city solutions have nothing reliable to feed their platforms.

The solution

What was built

CompAir built a complete citizen science toolkit for air quality monitoring: low-cost self-assembly sensors, a digital twin platform that integrates citizen data with official city datasets (released in 3 iterations from alpha to public version), dynamic dashboards, and augmented reality visualization tools. The project produced 43 deliverables across 4 pilot cities.

Audience

Who needs this

Smart city platform providers needing granular environmental data layersEnvironmental consultancies offering air quality assessments and compliance servicesMunicipal governments wanting to expand monitoring coverage without expensive fixed stationsIoT sensor manufacturers looking for validated low-cost air quality monitor designsReal estate developers needing neighbourhood-level air quality data for site selection
Business applications

Who can put this to work

Smart City Solutions
mid-size
Target: Urban technology providers and city platform integrators

If you are a smart city platform provider dealing with gaps in environmental monitoring coverage — CompAir developed a digital twin that integrates citizen-collected air quality data with official city datasets. Piloted across 4 major European locations with 16 consortium partners, the system went through 3 prototype iterations from closed alpha to open public version, giving you a tested integration path for crowdsourced environmental data.

Environmental Consulting
SME
Target: Air quality consultancies and environmental compliance firms

If you are an environmental consultancy struggling to offer granular, street-level air quality assessments beyond what fixed monitoring stations provide — CompAir built self-assembly low-cost sensors combined with dynamic dashboards that visualize pollution data at neighbourhood level. Tested in 6 countries with 43 deliverables produced, the toolkit could let you scale air quality mapping at a fraction of traditional monitoring costs.

IoT Hardware & Sensors
SME
Target: IoT sensor manufacturers and environmental monitoring device companies

If you are a sensor manufacturer looking for validated designs for affordable air quality monitors — CompAir developed innovative, self-assembly, low-cost sensor kits tested by real communities in Athens, Berlin, Sofia, and Flanders. With 7 industry partners involved in design and testing, the sensor specifications and integration protocols are field-proven and ready for commercial production.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to deploy this in our city or business?

The project was funded with EUR 4,686,189 across 16 partners and 4 pilot locations, so per-city costs were a fraction of that total. The sensors were specifically designed to be low-cost and self-assembly, making them far cheaper than traditional monitoring stations. Exact unit pricing is not published in the project data.

Can this scale beyond pilot cities to a national or commercial deployment?

The system was piloted in 4 locations across 6 countries (Flanders region, Athens, Berlin, Sofia), proving it works across different urban contexts and regulatory environments. The digital twin went through 3 full prototype cycles — closed alpha, open beta, and open public version — suggesting it was built with scalability in mind. The 44% industry ratio in the consortium (7 out of 16 partners) indicates commercial scaling was part of the design.

Who owns the intellectual property and can we license the technology?

The consortium includes 16 partners from 6 countries with 6 SMEs and 7 industry partners. IP ownership is typically shared under Horizon 2020 grant agreement rules, meaning each partner owns their contribution. Contact the coordinator (Vlaamse Gewest, Belgium) for licensing and commercialization terms.

Does this meet regulatory requirements for official air quality reporting?

CompAir was designed so citizen science data would complement and improve official datasets, not replace regulatory monitoring. The project specifically aimed to integrate citizen data into official city decision-making platforms. Based on available project data, the system enriches rather than substitutes for compliance-grade monitoring.

How long did it take to get from concept to working deployment?

The project ran for 3 years (November 2021 to October 2024). The digital twin went through 3 documented iterations: closed alpha, open beta, and open public version. The system was operational in all 4 pilot locations by project end.

How does this integrate with our existing city data platforms?

The digital twin was specifically designed for data integration — the deliverables document integration testing across all 3 prototype versions. The system was built to mutually enrich public and private data sources in official city decision-making platforms, suggesting standard data exchange protocols were used.

Consortium

Who built it

The CompAir consortium brings together 16 partners from 6 countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, UK), with a strong commercial orientation — 7 industry players and 6 SMEs make up 44% of the partnership. The coordinator is Vlaamse Gewest, a Belgian public authority, which anchors the project in real government operations rather than pure academia. With only 1 university but 4 research organizations, the balance tilts toward applied work and deployment. The geographic spread across Western, Central, and Southern Europe means the system has been tested in very different urban, regulatory, and cultural contexts — a strong signal for any business considering adoption in their own city.

How to reach the team

Vlaamse Gewest (Flemish Government, Belgium) — public administration body coordinating the consortium. Use SciTransfer's contact service for a warm introduction.

Order a report on this consortiumSee VLAAMSE GEWEST profile →
Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how CompAir's air quality monitoring tools could work for your city or business? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the right consortium partner for your specific use case.

Order a report on this topicMore in Environment & Climate
More in Environment & Climate
See all Environment & Climate projects →
Satellite-Based Water Quality Monitoring That Replaces Expensive Manual Sampling
EOMORES
Open →
Autonomous Water Drones That Collect Waste From Harbours and Waterways
WasteShark
Open →
Cloud Software That Maps the Seafloor from Satellite Data for Offshore and Coastal Companies
4S
Open →