WHAT IF YOU COULD FIT A LABORATORY, THAT MONITORS WATER POLLUTION, IN YOUR POCKET?
Water pollution – mainly caused by industrial activity and urbanisation – is becoming a large problem. Nearly two billion people around the world are forced to consume water that isn’t subjected to pre-treatment, which poses a risk to public health. Poor water quality also impacts the ecological status of aquatic environments.
In order to improve water quality, it needs to be measured. The standard measurement in monitoring water pollution is biological oxygen demand (BOD), it’s a 150 year old method that’s still in place. It takes five days for results to come in, plus requires sample collection, transportation, an equipped laboratory and trained staff.
At Enova H2O, we’ve developed innovative biosensors capable of detecting organic water pollutants in five seconds. Not only is it fast, but it’s small – it can fit in a pocket, allowing for testing directly on site. Each measurement is labelled with the date, time and GPS coordinates and works with smartphones, meaning you can share results instantly. Our product is used for a number of industries dealing with water, as well as lakes, rivers and wetlands.
FUNDING WOULD ALLOW US TO...
We want to branch out into new opportunities in pollution detection projects. Especially those involving citizen science. Information could be obtained during different outdoor activities, and the information would be available to the wider society, environmental agencies and local authorities. Funding would also help us scale up our production capacity, refine our technological and business processes and create new features.