Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - AquapHOx (The first high-performance, all-in-one optical sensor technology to monitor the health of our oceans)

Teaser

\"Today, it is already apparent that CO2 emissions have led to a dramatic acidification of the oceans. As a result, algae grow undamped, fishes die, the natural balance of ecosystems is permanently disturbed. Acidification is measured by the pH value, which, in the case of...

Summary

\"Today, it is already apparent that CO2 emissions have led to a dramatic acidification of the oceans. As a result, algae grow undamped, fishes die, the natural balance of ecosystems is permanently disturbed. Acidification is measured by the pH value, which, in the case of marine water environment and the harsh conditions of the deep sea, needs very exact measurements. To fulfil the huge need on the market the project \"\"AquapHOx\"\" provides an affordable, stable, user-friendly and accurate solution to measure the acidification of our oceans and further critical parameters.

AquapHOx is a new optical sensor technology that: a) enables, for the first time, pH measurement under harsh deep-sea conditions; b) exceeds the state-of-the-art in terms of O2 measurement by offering worldwide unique instruments for O2 trace gas and very fast O2 measurements and c) provides a complete measurement instrumentation based on a single platform technology.

Aim of PyroScience within this project is to commercialise the AquapHOx technology. By the end of the project, PyroScience will introduce two product versions of AquapHOx to the market. The AquapHOx series will be used for marine R&D, in particular oceanographic measurement campaigns in the deep sea, and subsequently for applications in the currently booming market of aquaculture, but also markets of bioprocessing, life sciences, water quality, or even medical applications will be interesting.

The main objectives of PyroScience in this business project are 1) Further development of the AquapHOx technology for market entrance; 2) Marketing and demonstration in the main market applications through partner network and 3) successful commercialisation of the new products.\"

Work performed

The project focuses mainly on the instrumentation, the sensor heads and the commercialisation strategy.

Instrumentation.
An optoelectronic module (OEM) was optimized and adapted for measurements in underwater systems allowing an efficient production setup and development of a sensor for end user including pressure stable housing to offer additional interface communication interfaces.
The production process for the OEM-Modul “AquapHOx OEM” was optimized regarding supply routes, e.g. for production and assembly of PCBs, of the optical block, and efficient assembly procedures. The final assembly was further optimized to speed up the process and enhance quality. An automatic setup for fast parallel factory trimming, evaluation offering full traceability was designed and build.
The new product “AquapHOx Logger” has been developed and designed. Test measurements were successfully performed for first prototypes at a pressure rating typical for “full ocean depth” oceanographic equipment. To increase the usability of the device several accessories were developed: Sensor cap adapter, screw-on calibration caps and flow-through cells.
A user-friendly software called “Pyro Workbench” is under development for the implementation of Read-out and configuration of the AquapHOx Logger modules. The firmware of the devices has been completely adapted for measurements with the novel optical pH sensors.

Sensor Heads.
Special versions of the optical oxygen sensors where developed and optimized regarding highest possible response times combined with optimized user-friendliness. This new sensor type was characterized e.g. regarding resolution, accuracy, response time. The pilot series was successfully evaluated by a launching customer.
Further, another special version of optical oxygen sensors was developed offering very high measurement resolution at very low oxygen levels, also called “trace oxygen sensors”. This new sensor type was characterized e.g. regarding resolution, accuracy.
The new optical pH sensor technology from PyroScience was adapted and optimized for marine and biotechnical applications. The sensors were characterized with regard to dynamic range, response time, drift, storage stability and accuracy. Additionally, cross-sensitivities to temperature and salinity were determined.
A calibration measurement facility was constructed allowing fully automated sensor calibrations which can be repeated periodically to conduct stability tests. In addition, temperature calibration is included. The production of the sensor materials was improved and simplified for mass production.

Commercialization Strategy.
A widespread commercialization strategy was developed and executed, covering several different marketing approaches.
PyroScience utilized its already existing network and contacts to many key-players e.g. in marine R&D but also in the biotech industrial sector (beta-tester, launching customers). Already during the early development and optimization steps of the instrumentation and of the sensor heads, close contact was kept with these beta-testers and launching customers. Currently several launching customers gain first experience in the “real world” with the new product AquapHOx Logger, but also with the OEM module AquapHOx OEM.
The PyroScience website presenting the new AquapHOx products was completely redesigned with response design and optimized for marketing purposes. Further, a completely new strategy was developed for maximum impact of newsletter activities.
The new pH sensor technology and/or the new AquapHOx instruments were actively promoted at conference exhibitions and at industrial trade fairs (> 10 events). These events provided also valuable customer feedback. In cooperation with professional marketing companies focused on the scientific market, potential customer bases (key scientists, scientific networks) was determined.

Final results

The AquapHOx technology is in several aspects beyond the state of the art. It enables pH measurement in harsh marine environments, and it exceeds the state-of-the-art in terms of O2 measurement by offering worldwide unique instruments for O2 trace gas and very fast O2 measurements and it provides a complete measurement instrumentation based on a single platform technology, which enables large-scale, long-term stable, highly accurate measurements of pH, O2.

AquapHOx brings benefits to the environment by allowing to expand the knowledge about the oceans’ acidification, and at the same to our society by enabling the measurement of critical parameters in water quality for diverse applications such as aquaculture and freshwater. However, the same technology shows to be very promising also in the huge application area of biotechnology.

The potential impact of the project can be divided into four main factors:

Political factors.
Providing new sensors and instrumentation for marine R&D focused on the protection of climate and environment to stop oceans’ acidification and changing seawater temperature.

Economic factors.
Seas and oceans ecosystem, but also the biotech and water quality sector are drivers for the European economy, e.g. seabed mining, aquaculture, marine biotechnology, water quality surveillance, general biotechnology. The new AquapHOx technology will be an additional factor to further push the already strong position of European companies in these application ares.

Socio-cultural factors.
Enabling a broad knowledge on the deep sea for protection of environment, for rising environmental awareness, to guarantee future sources of nutrition and allowing sustainable coastal tourism.

Technological & scientific factors.
Analysing the phenomenon of climate change and understanding the role of the ocean ecosystem.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.aquaphox.info.