Recent surveys indicate that we consume more than 280 billion single use plastic bottles world-wide, of which less than 20% are recycled. In Spain, where TAPP Water was founded, 126 litters of bottled water are consumed per person and each bottle requires about 3 litters of water to be produced, as well as oil and transportation generating 160 kg CO2 per year for the average household. The founders of the company decided to solve this and created a new filtering system that is being touted as a “revolutionary technology”. This year, the Barcelona based start-up raised 1.8 million euros to develop this new drinking water treatment technology.
Back to where it all started
It all started in 2014, with the founders Magnus Jern from Sweden and Alex from Germany. When Magnus moved to Barcelona, he noticed the water had an odour and tasted like chlorine, but instead of switching to bottled water, he decided to do something about it. Together with four other partners, they first extensively researched and analysed the situation. For two years, they also studied filtration technologies, testing more than 50 different filters and technologies, and conducting blind tests with hundreds of people.
TAPP 1, the company’s first product, was launched in June 2016, and since then more than 20,000 units have already been sold. Following the success, the company launched TAPP 2 in October 2017, a new version of its flagship product. It’s a smart biodegradable water filter, with a more elegant design and a Bluetooth sensor. The sensor provides real-time data to a mobile device to track water consumption and battery life. The filter can calculate the consumption of water and send an alert when the cartridge needs changing.
“If people can follow the status of the filter on their phones, they become more engaged, and the impact is bigger”, pointed out Magnus Jern during an interview to the website Bio Based News.
The sustainable water future
This year the company raised 1,8 M€ to develop new water filtration products and grow its user base. The new funding round was led by the private investors Bluewater - a world leader in innovative solutions and technologies for drinking water, and Yabeo - an early stage investor focusing on AdTech, FinTech, Health Tech.
“We are very happy with the continuous support to our mission”, said the General Director of TAPP Water Rocio Alcocer, during an interview to the Spanish journal El Referente. “TAPP is also a great business opportunity”, he added.
TAPP Water supports the EU Circular Economy Action Plan to reduce plastic waste and help consumers to use resources in a more sustainable way. Visit http://tappwater.co/en/ and try out the product to reduce your bottled water consumption today. Use promocode XMAS19 for a 20% discount.
This project has received a phase 2 grant from the EIC SME Instrument program to further enhance tap water quality and reduce plastic bottle waste with 2 Billion bottles per year. The total Phase 2 amount was 1.239.945 €.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.