Novel Monitoring Solution Advances bNovate's Vision

Lausanne-based bNovate Technologies has sold 500 systems worldwide performing more than a million automated microbiological measurements per year. The company has now launched BactoSense ID, an automated microbiological monitoring solution that detects and quantifies key bacteria, including E. coli, coliforms, and enterococci, in wastewater and bathing water in under 60 minutes, compared with 18–72 hours for traditional lab testing. BactoSense ID opens new addressable markets for bNovate.

So far bNovate solutions focused on measuring overall bacterial populations in water. With the newly launched BactoSense ID technology, the Swiss Technology company based at EPFL Innovation Park can now identify and quantify specific groups of bacteria that water professionals care about i.e. coliforms and enterococci, and E. coli will follow very soon. This is particularly relevant for wastewater, water reuse and bathing water, where these bacteria are important indicators of microbiological water quality, explains bNovate’s CMO Karim El Koury to Startupticker.ch.

Addressing new markets

BactoSense ID opens new addressable markets for bNovate and expands the capabilities of the BactoSense platform. These new applications still depend heavily on periodic lab samples, where results usually take days to process. While BactoSense ID does not replace regulatory lab tests, it complements them instead by providing visibility between lab tests. This enables operators to detect changes earlier and take quicker decisions based on timely data. Examples could be to optimize the amount of chemicals used to disinfect, to divert contaminated water in time or to help close or reopen swimming sites earlier.

Speaking of possible future BactoSenseID developments, Karim El Koury adds: “We are really proud of our engineering capabilities, and you can absolutely expect solutions for other bacteria to come! We would also like to acknowledge the great support received from InnoSuisse and so many others in developing our new BactoSense ID technology.”

Operating over 500 systems worldwide

bNovate has now more than 500 systems operating worldwide and already perform more than a million automated microbiological measurements per year, says Karim El Koury adding: “Our customers range from drinking-water utilities to pharmaceutical, food and beverage and other industrial companies. L’Occitane, Severn Trent and BWT are a few of our valued partners. We are also exploring the Semiconductor market and cooling systems- particularly for data centers.”

Following the recent tragic Legionella outbreak in a cooling system in Basel the Vaud scale-up is offering its support where it can. Its solutions are deployed internationally through bNovate directly and a growing network of specialized distribution and service partners. In fact, a BactoSense most recently made it to Greenland, adds the Chief Marketing Officer.

What the company has achieved is to simplify and automate complex lab instruments so that they become plug and play solutions, which are accessible to all water professionals- even those without advanced lab and microbiology training. Many instruments operate directly at treatment plants, in water distribution networks or within industrial production environments running 24/7.

A vision to drive growth

With around 50 employess bNovate is focussing on scaling the business internationally as well as continuing to expand the applications of its technology. BactoSense ID is an important part of this strategy because it opens new opportunities across wastewater, water reuse and environmental monitoring. At the same time, the company continues to expand in its core business areas such as drinking water, food and beverage and pharma.

From a technology perspective bNovate also invest heavily in its digital capabilities, including machine learning to further enhance how operators can derive even more valuable insights from the large amounts of data its instruments gather. The most recent example is BactoCloud- its SaaS cloud monitoring and analytics platform.

More broadly, bNovate’s ambition is to change the role of microbiology in water management. Traditionally, microbiological testing has largely been looking into the rear-view mirror. You take a sample, send it to a lab and find out several days later what was happening. The company believes the future is continuous, automated microbiological information that operators can use to control processes and make decisions in real time. BactoSense ID is a significant step into that direction. About 50 employees currently work at bNovate, and that number continues to grow.