New Europe-wide innovation community launched to tackle systemic water, marine and maritime challenges

A new community of leaders, innovators and changemakers from across Europe was officially launched at a special event in Málaga today to tackle challenges in the water, marine and maritime sectors and ecosystems.

Málaga, 15 October – A new community of leaders, innovators and changemakers from across Europe, with a collective ambition to tackle challenges in the water, marine and maritime (WMM) sectors and ecosystems, was officially launched at a special event in Málaga today. EIT Water’s launch event saw key representatives from politics, business and academia come together to celebrate the inception of this new knowledge and innovation community.

EIT Water is part of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, and one of nine Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). Currently in its startup phase, EIT Water has already attracted over 150 members, established eight regional hubs representing 29 countries, and delivered its Strategic Agenda (2027–2032), the seven-year plan to transform the resilience, sustainability and competitiveness of Europe’s water, marine and maritime systems and ecosystems.

Mikael Kamp Sørensen, EIT Water’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “This is a milestone moment for Europe’s water, marine and maritime sectors and ecosystems, heralding a new era of radical innovation to accelerate systemic WMM solutions. We’re grateful to our members, partners, cofunders and colleagues for embracing the opportunity to come together in person and celebrate the founding of a new community model, which will support all of us to achieve our collective goal: a healthy, resilient and sustainable water system.”

Highlights of the launch event, held at La Pergola Mediterraneo in Málaga, included keynote addresses from:

Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy;
Stefaan Hermans, Director of Competitiveness, Talent Mobility and International Cooperation for DG EAC at the European Commission;
Tim Smedley, award-winning environmental journalist and author of The Last Drop: Solving the World’s Water Crisis;
Dr Imogen Napper, a marine scientist and National Geographic Explorer whose research has driven real-world action on plastic pollution.

Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, European Commission, opened the launch event with a video message to the EIT Water community, stating: “Innovation is one of the most effective tools we have to boost water resilience. By turning Europe’s world-class research and innovation into ready water solutions, you will help promising technologies scale up more quickly. And you will help to deliver concrete benefits for citizens and Europe’s long-term resilience.”

The recipient of the EIT Water 2026 WAVEMAKER Innovation Award, funded by a philanthropic donation from Poul Due Jensen / Grundfos Foundation was also announced during the event. The WAVEMAKER Awards are designed to identify and support high-potential start-ups and spin-outs across the water, marine and maritime sectors. Eight winners from regional heats held across Europe during September were invited to compete for the overall title and a €5,000 development grant.

Following a series of ‘lightning’ pitches, Algaenius, a biotechnology startup that uses halophilic (salt-loving) algae as a pre-treatment method for seawater desalination, was announced as the overall European EIT Water WAVEMAKER Award winner for 2026. Three runners up all received a one-year EIT Water membership, providing them with access to a leading European network, mentoring support, and key insights and knowledge sharing to help them successfully commercialise and scale their ventures.

Founder and CEO of Algaenius, Meinke van Oenen, who founded the company while studying financial law and environmental innovation, said: “It’s an honour to receive this recognition from sector experts at this early stage in our journey, especially being a student-founded startup. It’s incredibly important that we work together, right across Europe, to scale solutions. We need to unite all of the different countries, connect better, and find new partnerships – and EIT Water will be an amazing facilitator for that.”

The launch event was preceded by a special reception on the evening of 14 October hosted by the Mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre Prados, who welcomed EIT Water delegates to the city and pledged his support for the initiative, stating: “Málaga serves as an exceptional living laboratory for EIT Water because it concentrates every water challenge within a single catchment area - just 30 minutes apart and right alongside a tech ecosystem of 700 companies and 29,000 engineers - ranging from mountain reservoirs to the Mediterranean Sea. In our city, talent, industry, and public administration are fully connected to test, validate, and scale the technologies of tomorrow, placing water innovation and sustainability at the very heart of our growth.”

-ENDS-

For more information, images or to request interviews, please contact the team at Greenhouse Communications on EITWater@greenhouse.agency or call +44 (0)7880 560233.

Notes to editors

About EIT Water

EIT Water is Europe’s knowledge and innovation community for water, marine and maritime sectors and ecosystems. We connect industry, innovators, researchers, educators and policymakers to tackle the most urgent water, marine and maritime challenges – from scarcity, drought and flooding to pollution and ecosystem decline.

By bringing together the right ideas, ingenuity and investment, we build real-world solutions that strengthen Europe’s water resilience, support the blue economy and protect ecosystems from source to sea.

EIT Water is part of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. Together with the EIT Community, Europe’s largest innovation network, we strengthen resilience, sustainability and competitiveness.

For more information, please visit https://eitwater.eu.

About the EIT

The EIT is an EU body and an integral part of Horizon Europe, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The Institute supports dynamic pan-European partnerships, called EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities, among leading companies, research labs and universities. Together with its leading partners, the EIT Community offers a wide range of innovation and entrepreneurship activities across Europe: entrepreneurial education courses, business creation and acceleration services and innovation-driven research projects.