The Granada municipal company Emasagra, part-owned by Hidralia, has received funding from the Ministry of Science to develop innovation projects at its Vados and Sur plants, aiming to achieve energy self-sufficiency and climate neutrality.
Emasagra, the municipal water supply and sanitation company of Granada, has obtained a grant from the Ministry of Science to invest seven million euros in innovation projects at its ecofactories in Vados and Sur. The initiative, co-financed by 72.25% from the FEDER fund (5.05 million), falls under the Demand Innovation Promotion line (FID Line), a state programme that promotes Public Procurement of Innovation (CPI).
The managing director of Emasagra, Juan Carlos Torres, explained that the key financial tool is Pre-commercial Public Procurement (CPP). "Through this mechanism, the administration does not buy a ready-made product, but shares the risk with companies to develop solutions that do not exist today," he stated. This approach allows the company to consolidate its commitment to innovation, which it has maintained uninterrupted since 2014.
Emasagra has already achieved significant milestones in recent years. With its strategic plan 'Emasagra Impulsa', it reached climate neutrality after a decade of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. In 2025, it achieved energy self-sufficiency in all its activities, exceeding 140% of green energy production at the Ecofactory Sur thanks to biogas, solar photovoltaic energy, and cogeneration.
Now, with the Covagua project, the company is advancing in its decarbonisation plan. The goal is for the plant to operate as a single entity under centralised digital control by 2029, where each process feeds into the next and waste is turned into a strategic resource. "If we succeed, its potential for transfer is infinite and it will be a replicable standard throughout Spain and Europe," Torres added. "The question is no longer whether it is possible to achieve climate neutrality in water, but how quickly we can scale this model, turning it into a measurable industrial reality."
Challenges of the Covagua project
The Covagua project is structured around three major challenges. The first focuses on co-digestion and nutrient recovery. The ecofactory not only eliminates waste but can also extract valuable resources from the sludge generated by the process. Through co-digestion with co-substrates, the plant optimises its biological processes to maximise energy production. The plan is to increase biogas production (renewable energy) by 50% and nitrogen and phosphorus recovery (natural fertilisers) by over 70%. By recovering these nutrients, the plant can help reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers, closing the loop of local agricultural sustainability.
The second challenge addresses one of the most critical environmental issues: the management of fibrous solid waste, mainly wet wipes. Currently, these remnants pose a significant burden on landfill management. Emasagra proposes a pioneering solution: an automatic sorting system using multispectral vision to enable the recovery of wipes and fibrous waste. This advancement is based on a research project from the University of Granada (UGR), with which Emasagra maintains a strong alliance. The project was led by Dr. Martín and Dr. Zamorano from UGR, and Dr. Torres from Emasagra, and resulted in the doctoral thesis of Juan Jesús de la Torre Bayo, titled 'Energy recovery of the waste from the pre-treatment of wastewater treatment plants as recovered solid fuel.'
The third challenge, not yet detailed in the available information, completes the roadmap towards the smart ecofactory. With this investment, Emasagra positions itself as a benchmark in innovation in the water cycle, with a model that aspires to be replicable in other cities and countries.
For the citizens of Granada, these advances translate into a more efficient and sustainable management of water, with less environmental impact and a reduction in long-term costs. Additionally, the recovery of nutrients and the production of renewable energy contribute to the local circular economy.
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