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Aganova wins Emerald investment, promising further innovation in leak and condition assessment

  • Aganova wins Emerald investment, promising further innovation in leak and condition assessment

About the entity

Emerald Technology Ventures
Emerald is a globally recognized venture capital firm building a sustainable future at the crossroads of industry and technology.

Themes

Cleantech venture capital pioneer Emerald Technology Ventures announced on the 17th of November that it has led an investment into Aganova, a water intelligence company focused on addressing a wider market with vast potential in the leak detection and condition assessment space. With participation from Cimbria Capital, the infusion of capital will help Aganova to expand internationally and rollout new products and solutions in international markets and increase headcount amid rapid expansion.

With climate change exacerbating water stress around the world, the pathway to water security runs through the pipes that make up municipal water systems. Any drop of water that escapes via leaks—no matter how tiny—is critical as we must protect water resources, ensuring that greater amounts are available overall while reducing energy consumption and improving financial performance. As growing populations are dependent on water for everything from agriculture to manufacturing, leak detection is a vital part of sensible water management.

Based in Málaga, Spain, Aganova develops advanced “inline” leak detection tools (meaning tools that are placed inside a pipe) paired with software. Its proprietary tools coupled with its digital platform provides a one-stop shop for inspection data that is easily accessible by the end-user. Crucially, its solutions are intended to work largely within transmission mains, the main pipe connecting a treatment plant to a municipal water system. These are large pipes, in contrast to the smaller pipes that make up distribution networks and where most leak-detection efforts have been focused.

Improving pipe performance

There is significant room to improve pipe performance around the world. One study estimated that the global volume of non-revenue water— water that has been treated but does not generate revenues and can be lost through leaks, tank overflows, theft, meter inaccuracies, etc.—was 126 billion m3 per year, equating to an estimated financial cost of $39 billion per year, as of 2018. This will spur a compound annual growth rate of 5.9% in the global pipeline monitoring system market from 2020 to 2027, by which time it is expected to reach $7.9 billion.

Given the volume of water that traverses a transmission main, a potential leak or burst in such a pipe is much more serious than within a distribution network. This makes Aganova well-positioned to capitalize on the growing appetite for pipe maintenance solutions as water systems grow more complex.

A partner in growth

Emerald’s growing investment activity in water pipe intelligence and innovation make it the perfect partner for Aganova’s international ambitions, as evidenced by Emerald’s recent investments into SewerAI and FIDO.

“Aganova’s dedicated, hard-working team is laser focused on solving water leaks via an elegant, technologically-sophisticated solution,” says Emerald Partner Helge Daebel, who will join Aganova’s board. “We look forward to helping propel its growth and broader impact in the water space.”

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