About

IRIS is an Italian innovative SME committed to circular economy, environmental sustainability and resource efficiency. The company supports the development of innovative solutions for sustainable water management, wastewater treatment and resource recovery, contributing to the advancement of environmentally responsible technologies and sustainable innovation practices. In AYUMI, IRIS acts as Project Coordinator, leading the overall management of the consortium and ensuring the effective coordination of partners, activities, deliverables and expected results. IRIS will support cooperation among partners and ensure that the project progresses in line with its sustainability, innovation and impact objectives.

SoftWater S.r.l. is an Italian environmental engineering SME specializing in water data management, processing, advanced modeling, and digital twin architectures. The company leverages data-driven insights, machine learning, and geospatial analytical frameworks to solve complex challenges in hydrology, water resources allocation, and environmental monitoring. In AYUMI, SoftWater is responsible for smart monitoring, data integration and strategic model. They will focus on designing, deploying, and maintaining AYFlow, the integrated digital monitoring, modeling, and analytics platform for the project. SoftWater leads the integration of real-time online/near-line sensor streams across all demonstration sites, delivers role-based stakeholder and decision-maker dashboards, and implements basin-scale strategic models for allocation and drought planning. Furthermore, SoftWater manages FAIR data compliance, dataset curations, and open APIs to support environmental evaluation, traceability, and project-wide replication.

Acquedotto Pugliese S.p.A. (AQP) is the public utility responsible for the integrated water service across the Apulia region and in 12 municipalities in Campania, Italy. Serving over 4 million people across an area of approximately 20,000 km², AQP is one of Europe’s leading water utilities and manages a system that is unique in Italy in terms of its size, complexity and degree of interconnection. It comprises over 20,000 km of water network, over 13,000 km of sewerage network and 185 wastewater treatment plants. Beyond its core operations, AQP actively leads and participates in research, technological innovation and international cooperation initiatives focused on sustainable water management, wastewater treatment, the circular economy and digitalization.

In the AYUMI project, AQP brings essential operational, utility and territorial expertise to Demonstration Site 1 (Apulia, Italy). AQP supports local infrastructure integration and the testing of treatment and monitoring technologies at the Italian demonstration site. Building on the existing wastewater treatment and water-reuse scheme, AQP provides operational data and technical expertise and supports the integration, testing and validation of innovative treatment, monitoring and digital solutions under real-world utility conditions. AQP also contributes to local Living Lab activities and stakeholder engagement, involving farmers, local institutions and other relevant stakeholders, and supports the co-design and validation of Water Reuse Safety Plans and sustainable water-reuse approaches for agriculture.

Tomatiki Smart Solutions LLC is an Egyptian agribusiness enterprise and smart farming technology provider operating within the Nile Delta and Greater Cairo agricultural corridors. The company specializes in precision agriculture, smart irrigation scheduling, and climate-resilient farming, serving both local markets and export-oriented supply chains under strict international standards. By applying digital monitoring, controlled-environment techniques, and optimized fertigation, Tomatiki enhances crop yield, water productivity, and resource efficiency in arid and water-stressed agricultural systems.  

In the AYUMI project, Tomatiki serves as the primary commercial farming host and agricultural demonstrator for Demonstration Site 4 (Nile Delta, Egypt). The company anchors agribusiness and export market requirements into local Living Labs and leads the operational validation of reclaimed water reuse across large-scale commercial fields. Tomatiki integrates real-time online sensor streams, precision drip fertigation loops, and the AYFlow platform to safely utilize treated effluents for crop production under extreme scarcity. Furthermore, Tomatiki conducts multi-season agronomic trials, evaluates fertilizer substitution rates, tests EX-TEX tariff models, and pilots market assurance protocols (such as GLOBALG.A.P. and organic certification compliance) to prove the commercial viability and food safety of reuse-irrigated produce in South-Mediterranean and arid-zone agricultural value chains. 

AQLARA Infraestructuras S.A. is a Spanish water engineering and infrastructure company that operates across the entire urban water cycle. Managing over 200 wastewater treatment plants and distribution networks, AQLARA specializes in water treatment operations, process engineering, and sustainable water management for local municipalities and agricultural communities. The company is committed to resource efficiency, circular economy solutions, and the implementation of innovative technologies in municipal and rural water infrastructures.

In the AYUMI project, AQLARA acts as the leader of Demonstration Site 2 (Aragón, Spain). AQLARA leads the site engineering and infrastructure integration, coordinating the implementation of PFDs, P&IDs, equipment lists, and HACCP-style control points to meet EU Regulation 2020/741 Class A standards. Operating as a demonstrator of modular technology solutions, the company coordinates the deployment and field validation of advanced polishing trains – such as Pulsed Discharge Plasma (PDP), advanced oxidation, microwave-AOP, and carbon biofilters – under real operational conditions at small rural wastewater treatment plants. Furthermore, AQLARA drives local Living Labs, engages local farmer associations and regional authorities, and leads the development of regional replication roadmaps across its extensive portfolio of municipal water facilities. 

The University of Turin is one of Italy’s largest, oldest, and most prestigious research-intensive universities. Participating in AYUMI through two specialized departments – the Department of Chemistry (UNITO-CD) and the Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA, UNITO-D), the institution combines advanced analytical chemistry with applied agricultural and soil sciences. UNITO excels in developing real-time environmental analytical platforms, soil health diagnostics, sustainable fertigation strategies, and crop productivity evaluations under circular economy models.

Within AYUMI, UNITO serves as the Scientific Coordinator and leads the environmental, agronomic, health and sustainability assessment. The Department of Chemistry (UNITO-CD) is responsible for adapting and validating multi-parameter online/near-line analytical platforms (specifically combined TOC, Total Nitrogen, and Total Phosphorus analyzers) directly integrated with treatment flow loops across the demonstration sites. UNITO-CD establishes harmonized monitoring protocols, analytical QA/QC standards, and cross-calibration routines to feed real-time quality data into the AYFlow platform. The Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA / UNITO-D) coordinates multi-season agronomic field trials, paired-plot comparisons, and digital fertigation strategies. DISAFA monitors long-term soil health indicators (chemical, physical, and biological), tracks crop yield and food safety responses, quantifies mineral fertilizer substitution rates and formulates farmer-ready decision guides for reclaimed water irrigation under drought conditions.  

F6S Network Ireland DAC (F6STech) is a global tech innovation network, startup ecosystem platform, and SME scaling hub headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Bringing together a community of over 1.7 million startups, SMEs, research institutions, and corporate innovators, F6S excels in driving ecosystem engagement, managing open innovation initiatives, leading multi-stakeholder communication strategies, and coordinating European-wide dissemination, exploitation, and policy uptake. Within European framework programmes, F6S leverages its vast digital platform and expertise in social sciences and humanities to bridge technological breakthroughs with commercial markets, regulatory frameworks, and end-user adoption.

In the AYUMI project, F6STech serves as a key core partner, leading three central work packages: Co-design, regulatory mapping and incentives; Replication, policy co-creation and scale-up; and Dissemination, exploitation, communication and capacity building. F6STech designs and executes the project’s comprehensive SSH research and Living Labs framework across all demonstration regions, mapping social, behavioral, and regulatory barriers to reclaimed water adoption among farmers, consumers, and basin authorities. F6STech leads the overall Communication, Dissemination, and Stakeholder Engagement Plan, managing the public website, digital channels, media relations, capacity-building kits, and Practice Abstracts for the EIP-AGRI/EU CAP network. Furthermore, F6STech coordinates project-wide IP management, Key Exploitable Results (KERs), and market uptake strategies, while driving the Replication Programme. In this capacity, F6STech mentors external adopters and co-develops bankable replication proposal portfolios targeting regional, national, and European funding streams.

Technische Universität Braunschweig (TUBS) is one of Germany’s leading technical universities, renowned for its strong focus on civil and environmental engineering, natural sciences, and sustainable technology development. Participating through the Institute of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering within the Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, TUBS specializes in academic education, applied research, and advanced process engineering across urban water supply, wastewater disposal, and water recycling.

Within the AYUMI project, TUBS brings extensive scientific, process, and analytical expertise to Demonstration Site 3 (Braunschweig, Germany), working in close cooperation with the local water utility, Abwasserverband Braunschweig (AV-BS). TUBS supports the execution of the local research program by calculating material and mass flows for both full-scale operational process chains and additional technical-scale polishing units. A primary objective of TUBS is to validate compliance with EU Regulation 2020/741 requirements (Class A/B) across existing and future treatment stages, testing modular polishing chains (such as biofilters and adsorption technologies) for emerging contaminants and micropollutant removal. Beyond site engineering and technology testing, TUBS plays an active role across other multiple work packages.

Abwasserverband Braunschweig (AV-BS) is a German public water and soil association that manages the long-standing “Braunschweig Model”, one of Europe’s oldest, largest, and most successful operational agricultural water-reuse schemes. The scheme integrates urban municipal wastewater treatment, nutrient recovery, agricultural irrigation, and energy generation into a closed circular loop. Operating across an agricultural area of approximately 3,000 hectares, AV-BS delivers around 40,000 m3/day of reclaimed water during peak irrigation seasons, combining advanced wastewater purification, biogas production, and seasonal soil/aquifer management.

In the AYUMI project, AV-BS leads Demonstration Site 3 (Braunschweig, Germany), serving as the primary operational reference hub and benchmarking site for agricultural water reuse in Northern/Central Europe. AV-BS hosts full-scale operational process chains and technical-scale polishing units to validate EU Regulation 2020/741 Class A/B compliance, emerging contaminant removal, and Managed Aquifer Recharge safeguards under real-world agricultural conditions. Beyond hosting the German demonstration site, AV-BS contributes across other key work packages.

The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) is France’s primary public research organization and one of the world’s leading research institutions. Participating in AYUMI through the CEMHTI institute (Conditions Extrêmes et Matériaux: Haute Température et Irradiation, UMR 7121), CNRS combines multidisciplinary expertise in materials science, environmental chemistry, and advanced process engineering. CNRS excels in designing, synthesizing, and deploying advanced material architectures (including tailored porous carbons, visible-light-driven photocatalysts, and low-voltage electrocatalytic systems) to solve complex environmental challenges and destroy persistent micropollutants in water systems.

In the AYUMI project, CNRS leads the Deployment and technology demonstration, and serves as the technical lead for the Development and integration of water treatment technologies task. CNRS brings innovative destructive polishing and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) to the consortium, targeting the complete mineralisation of recalcitrant emerging contaminants (ECs), pharmaceuticals, and pesticides without generating toxic byproducts.

Particula Group D.O.O. is a Croatian research, technology, and project development enterprise specializing in circular bioeconomy solutions, resource recovery, and industrial innovation. The company operates at the intersection of environmental engineering, sustainable agriculture, and advanced bioproduct development. Particula Group excels in transforming agricultural and industrial sidestreams into high-value circular inputs, including microalgae-based biofertilizers, biostimulants, and soil amendments.

In the AYUMI project, Particula Group serves as the lead partner for circular nutrient recovery and bioproduct valorization. The company drives the deployment and testing of its proprietary TERRALGAL microalgae technology, which upcycles nutrient-rich wastewater sidestreams and captures CO2 to produce high-value biofertilizers and biostimulants tailored to crop phenology. Furthermore, PG coordinates the establishment of circular water-agriculture loops between food/agri-food processing industries and local agricultural producers across the project’s demonstration basins. 

The Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) is one of Greece’s largest, best-equipped, and most prestigious public research centers. Participating in AYUMI through the Institute of Electronic Structure & Laser (IESL) – specifically the Ultrafast Laser Micro-and Nano-Processing Laboratory (ULMNP)- FORTH is a recognized EU research infrastructure within LASERLAB-Europe and NFFA-Europe. FORTH-IESL specializes in advanced laser materials processing, biomimetic surface engineering, and the design and fabrication of novel micro/nano-structured biological and chemical sensors.

In the AYUMI project, FORTH-IESL serves as a key technology provider, contributing advanced sensing infrastructure and supporting Demonstration Site 5 (Crete, Greece). Working alongside UNITO for the development and integration of sensor and analytics systems, FORTH designs, fabricates, and field-validates novel, rapid online and near-line biosensors, including aptamer-based platforms, specifically engineered for the rapid screening and detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and priority micropollutants.

Agrotikos Oporokhpeftikos Elaioyrgikos Synetairismos Tympakioy (OPAST / Agricultural Fruit, Vegetable & Olive Oil Cooperative of Tympaki) is a historic agricultural cooperative located in Tymbaki, Crete, Greece. Founded in 1945, the cooperative operates as a recognized producers’ group comprising 134 active, certified growers and a total membership of over 540 farmers. OPAST manages an extensive agricultural infrastructure, including greenhouse vegetable production (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, melons, watermelons), olive oil milling, standardized packaging, an auction house, and a regional logistics network, serving both domestic markets and international export channels under strict quality and food safety standards.

In the AYUMI project, OPAST serves as the primary commercial farming host, agricultural demonstrator, and Living Lab lead for Demonstration Site 5 (Tympaki, Crete, Greece). Operating in a coastal, water-stressed Mediterranean basin, OPAST brings real-world agronomic expertise to evaluate the safe utilization of alternative non-conventional water sources, such as harvested rainwater stored in large agricultural dams/tanks and brackish groundwater, for greenhouse and open-field crop production.

Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (Fraunhofer ICT) is a leading applied research institute within the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, specializing in chemical processes, environmental engineering, energy systems, and life cycle engineering. The institute excels in performing comprehensive environmental, economic, and circular economy assessments, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC), to quantify the sustainability performance and economic viability of advanced technologies and industrial processes.

In the AYUMI project, Fraunhofer ICT serves as the lead partner for Environmental, agronomic, health and sustainability assessment, and acts as the central coordinator for environmental, economic, and circularity evaluations across all demonstration sites. Fraunhofer ICT establishes harmonized LCC and attributional/consequential LCA frameworks grounded in real-time operational data collected via the AYFlow platform, including energy consumption, chemical inputs, operational labor, and maintenance costs.  

IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (IHE DELFT) is the largest international graduate water education facility in the world, operating as a Category 2 institute under the auspices of UNESCO. Based in Delft, Netherlands, the institute specializes in MSc-level education, scientific research, and institutional capacity development across water engineering, hydrology, governance, and sustainable resource management. IHE Delft excels in spatial crop/irrigation modeling, remote sensing applications for water accounting, managed aquifer recharge safeguards, and agricultural water productivity benchmarking across global and Mediterranean contexts. In the AYUMI project, IHE Delft leads key modeling, irrigation assessment, and capacity-building tasks, bringing advanced remote-sensing and water-accounting methodologies across the demonstration basins.

PROYMATICA 21 S.L. is a Spanish process engineering SME specializing in advanced industrial simulation, environmental technology development, and wastewater process optimization. Operating out of Córdoba, Spain, the company excels in designing, scaling, and validating innovative water treatment systems and modular pilot plants. PROYMATICA applies innovative chemical and process engineering to develop energy-efficient polishing technologies that remove persistent organic pollutants, emerging contaminants, and micropollutants from municipal and rural wastewater streams. In the AYUMI project, PROYMATICA serves as a key engineering and technology provider, contributing advanced polishing and biofiltration skids under the Deployment and technology demonstration work package, and supporting circular evaluation. The company leads the design, fabrication, and technical validation of two innovative pilot treatment systems integrated across the project’s demonstration sites.

The Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale – ISPRA) is a public research body under the supervision of the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE). ISPRA acts as the technical-scientific authority supporting national, European, and international institutions on environmental protection, water resource management, circular economy, and climate adaptation policies. The institute collaborates directly with European Union entities for environmental reporting, legislative compliance, and policy implementation, leading national technical frameworks for ecological monitoring, environmental risk assessment, and regulatory safeguards.  In AYUMI, ISPRA serves as a key regulatory and governance co-lead, bringing technical-scientific authority to secure environmental compliance, water reuse safety, and policy integration across the project’s demonstration sites. ISPRA contributes significantly across different work packages (Co-design, regulatory mapping and incentives and Replication, policy co-creation and scale-up).

Located in Germany’s capital city, Technische Universität Berlin (TUB) is one of the country’s largest and most prestigious technical universities, operating within the Berlin University Alliance. Participating in AYUMI through the Digital Water Systems Lab (DWS) – embedded within the Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF) – TUB specializes in data analytics, behavioral modeling, socio-technical systems analysis, and digital tools for coupled human-environment-infrastructure systems. TUB excels in evaluating complex stakeholder interactions, user behaviors, socio-economic factors, and acceptance dynamics in environmental management. In the AYUMI project, TUB serves as the lead academic partner for Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), leading the Co-designing operating models in Living Labs and Socio-economic and acceptance outcomes. TUB brings rigorous behavioral science methodologies, discrete-choice experiments, and consumer narrative analyses across all demonstration basins to address implicit biases against reclaimed water reuse (“spring water = pure” vs. “reclaimed water = risky”).