SENTRY
SENTRY Water Technologies builds patented bio-electrode sensors that provide real-time, minute-by-minute monitoring of biological oxygen demand, volatile fatty acids, and biomass health in municipal and industrial wastewater and anaerobic digestion applications, sold via hardware plus ~$1K/month subscription through a global rep network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersCharlottetown, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What SENTRY does
SENTRY Water Technologies Inc. is a Canadian water-technology company headquartered in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, that develops and commercializes a real-time biological activity and water quality monitoring platform built on patented bio-electrode sensor (BES) technology derived from microbial fuel cell principles. The platform uses customized in-situ biofilm communities to oxidize organic carbon and volatile fatty acids in wastewater streams, generating an electron flow proportional to oxidation rate, and reports minute-by-minute measurements of Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA), and biomass health. The product family comprises four specialized sensors (BioAlert for industrial/collection network monitoring, BioShield for influent headworks, DigesterSense for anaerobic digester health, and CarbonSense for BNR/biological process monitoring), a web-based management dashboard with SCADA integration, and an optional integrated auto-sampling module launched through a partnership with C.E.C. Innovations. SENTRY serves municipal wastewater treatment plants, industrial wastewater operators, agricultural anaerobic digesters, and wastewater collection networks across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
The company operates a hybrid hardware-plus-subscription revenue model: sensor probes and control panels are sold as one-time hardware, while the recurring ~$1,000/month per system service layer bundles cloud dashboards, alerts, and reports. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales from headquarters with an exclusive regional representative network spanning Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Israel, Australia, China, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia, complemented by strategic technology partnerships (Moleaer, C.E.C. Innovations, Teledyne ISCO, Ovivo, Organica Water). SENTRY operates as a product line under parent company Island Water Technologies, holds three granted U.S. patents on its bio-electrode platform, received a CAD $1.9 million Government of Canada grant in November 2021, was named a World Economic Forum Top 10 Innovator in 2024, and has scaled to 400+ sensors deployed across 170+ facilities serving 650+ operators worldwide.
SENTRY firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SENTRY
- Legal name
- SENTRY Water Technologies Inc.
- Website
- https://sentrywatertech.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- SENTRY Water Technologies builds patented bio-electrode sensors that provide real-time, minute-by-minute monitoring of biological oxygen demand, volatile fatty acids, and biomass health in municipal and industrial wastewater and anaerobic digestion applications, sold via hardware plus ~$1K/month subscription through a global rep network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SENTRY industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Water Quality Monitoring Sensors
- NAICS
- Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)
- SIC
- Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Online Monitoring, Sensors & Instrumentation (SCADA-integrated analyzers, probes, samplers) (EUANAJAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Wastewater & Industrial Effluent Monitoring (NPDES/Permit Compliance) (EUAHACAD), Environmental Sensors (Temperature/Humidity/Gas/Air Quality) (HDAHALAD)
Keywords
Where SENTRY is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Charlottetown
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
SENTRY business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Real-time Monitoring Sensors: Sale and ongoing service of bio-electrode sensor systems for wastewater quality monitoring. Systems include sensors, control panel, and web-based management software. Average monthly cost approximately $1K per system (~$40/day).
- Sensor Hardware and Installation: One-time hardware sales of sensor probes, control panels, and associated equipment with installation services. Systems support up to four connected sensors per control panel.
- Professional Services and Training: Operator training and detailed performance reports included with system deployment. Additional consulting and optimization services for customers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Standard Real-time Monitoring System |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise Multi-Location Deployment |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels8 records
SENTRY product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SENTRY designs, manufactures, and sells bio-electrode sensor systems that deliver continuous, minute-by-minute real-time monitoring of Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA), and biomass health in municipal and industrial wastewater streams. Each system comprises a sensor probe, control panel supporting up to four sensors, web-based management dashboard, and optional event-triggered auto-sampling, sold primarily as a subscription monitoring service priced at approximately $1,000 per system per month.
Product overview
SENTRY is a unified real-time biological activity and water quality monitoring platform consisting of four specialized bio-electrode sensor products (BioAlert, BioShield, DigesterSense, CarbonSense), a supporting web-based dashboard, and optional integrated auto-sampling. The platform provides minute-by-minute monitoring of BOD, VFA, and biomass health across wastewater treatment applications including municipal WWTPs, industrial discharge monitoring, and anaerobic digestion optimization. All products share the same core bio-electrode sensor technology and control panel infrastructure.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- BioAlert: Industrial and collection network BOD and toxicity monitoring solution that identifies sources of wastewater variability and monitors industrial users at effluent and collection network locations.
- BioShield
- DigesterSense
- CarbonSense
Products and services
- BioAlert Industrial and collection network BOD and toxicity monitoring sensor designed for high-strength industrial effluent and monitoring manholes. Identifies problematic industrial users negatively impacting downstream treatment.
- BioShield Influent BOD monitoring sensor installed at plant headworks providing 2-4 hour early warning of organic spikes and industrial toxicity events. Protects biological treatment process from organic overloading.
- DigesterSense Real-time VFA monitoring sensor for anaerobic digester health. Installed in AD recirculation line, provides high-frequency VFA signal for biological health of methanogenic population. Optimizes variable feed loads and maximizes organic loading.
- CarbonSense Biological process monitoring sensor providing real-time readily biodegradable COD (rbCOD) or VFA measurements from anaerobic selector BNR or optimized biological treatment processes. Enables precise carbon inventory management and supplemental carbon dosing optimization.
- Bio-electrode Sensor System Core patented bio-electrode sensor technology using microbial fuel cell principles. Sensors monitor biological oxidation of organic carbon by measuring electron flow from in-situ biofilm surfaces. Requires no calibrations, moving parts, or routine maintenance. Systems include sensor probes, control panel supporting up to four sensors, and web-based dashboard software.
- Custom Web Dashboard Web-based management and alerting software supporting all internet-connected devices. Allows real-time monitoring of microbiology, customized early warning alarms, event logging, and remote data sharing. Sends real-time data to on-site SCADA systems.
- Integrated Auto Sampling Event-triggered auto-sampling integration where SENTRY sensor alerts trigger real-time sample collection. Captures industrial discharge events that may last as short as 30 minutes and would be missed by composite monitoring. Reduces manual sampling by 80%.
- Machine Learning-based Biomass Health Reports Machine learning-based biomass health reports that analyze historical minute-by-minute sensor data to identify patterns and predict treatment performance, enabling operators to understand daily and weekly wastewater characteristics.
Quantifiable outcome
- $75,000+ average annual savings for municipal clients with ROI achieved in months vs. years
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use SENTRY
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
SENTRY technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability4 records
Feature6 records
SENTRY partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- C.E.C. Innovations (C.E.C.)coreCombined sensing, sampling, and rapid analysis technologies partnership. Integrates C.E.C.'s event-based auto sampler with SENTRY's real-time monitoring sensors. Enables municipalities to proactively manage influent variability, protect biological treatment systems, and fine-tune pretreatment programs. First implementation at Town of Cobourg Water Pollution Control Plant.
- Moleaer Inc.coreNanobubble technology partnership for real-time toxicity event identification and elimination. Combined solution pairs SENTRY's real-time wastewater quality monitoring sensors with Moleaer's nanobubble technology. First implementation at a Pennsylvania WWTP to overcome intermittent toxicity challenges from industrial community discharges.
- OvivocoreBNR treatment partnership. Collaboration on Idaho Falls WWTP BNR project. Ovivo biological treatment expert joined SENTRY team to discuss joint success story for improving BNR treatment outcomes.
- Organica WatercoreValidation of real-time monitoring solution for Budapest WWTP. SENTRY technology installed at Organica Food Chain Reactor with combined returned MLSS. Validated SENTRY platform as replacement for traditional manual wastewater sampling. Sensor correlated with TCOD/fCOD/TBOD5 measurements.
- ConexaminorRegional representative partner for Australia in Asia Pacific region.
- Capital H2O SystemsminorRegional representative for Canada covering Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.
- QCL ScientificminorRegional representative for UK in Europe.
- GIMAT GmbH Liquid MonitoringminorRegional representative for Germany in Europe.
- Western EnvironmentalminorRegional representative for Arizona, USA. Named Top 5 Smart Water Project for 2020.
- ADASA SystemsminorRegional representative for Spain in Europe.
- ELAD TechnologiesminorRegional representative for Israel.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SENTRY competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Real Tech Inc. Real Tech is a direct competitor in real-time water quality monitoring, offering BOD, COD, TOC, and UV-Vis sensor probes for municipal and industrial wastewater — directly overlapping SENTRY's BioShield and BioAlert use cases.
- s::can Messtechnik GmbH: s::can manufactures online UV-Vis spectrophotometric probes for water quality monitoring (BOD, COD, TOC, nitrate) and is a directly comparable online sensor competitor with municipal and industrial deployments similar to SENTRY's.
Broad incumbents
- Hach (Danaher): Hach is the dominant incumbent in water quality testing and online process instrumentation, offering a broad portfolio of probes, analyzers, and reagents that overlaps SENTRY's real-time BOD/biomass monitoring with significantly greater scale and bundling power.
- Endress+Hauser: Endress+Hauser is a global leader in process analytical instrumentation including online wastewater analyzers (e.g., Memosens platform) and represents a broad incumbent competitor with established municipal and industrial relationships.
- Xylem Analytics: Xylem (including WTW, YSI, and other brands) provides a comprehensive suite of water quality sensors, probes, and analytics for municipal and industrial water/wastewater — overlapping SENTRY's biological monitoring applications with broader portfolio scale.
Emerging players
- Chelsea Technologies Group: Chelsea Technologies develops optical and fluorescence-based sensors for water quality monitoring, including BOD-relevant parameters, making it a comparable emerging technology player targeting adjacent niches of the online wastewater sensing market.
- Analytical Technology Inc. (ATI): ATI manufactures online water quality analyzers and gas detectors for wastewater, industrial, and environmental monitoring — overlapping with SENTRY's industrial and municipal applications but with a broader sensor chemistry portfolio.
- LAR Process Analysers: LAR specializes in online process analyzers for wastewater (BOD, COD, TOC, toxicity) and is a comparable emerging player serving municipal and industrial customers with multi-parameter real-time monitoring analogous to SENTRY's offering.
- Applitek (Endress+Hauser): Applitek produces online wet-chemical and photometric analyzers for water and wastewater parameters including BOD and toxicity, now part of Endress+Hauser, and is directly comparable to SENTRY's real-time monitoring approach.
Others
- Ovivo: Ovivo is a global water treatment equipment and technology provider (BNR, biological processes) and a current SENTRY partner; it is included as an ecosystem participant rather than a direct sensor competitor because its offerings are complementary process solutions.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
SENTRY social profiles
Digital presenceSENTRY financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SENTRY leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
SENTRY funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SENTRY M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SENTRY
What does SENTRY do?
SENTRY designs, manufactures, and sells bio-electrode sensor systems that deliver continuous, minute-by-minute real-time monitoring of Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA), and biomass health in municipal and industrial wastewater streams. Each system comprises a sensor probe, control panel supporting up to four sensors, web-based management dashboard, and optional event-triggered auto-sampling, sold primarily as a subscription monitoring service priced at approximately $1,000 per system per month.
Is SENTRY a public or private company?
SENTRY is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was SENTRY founded?
SENTRY was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is SENTRY based?
SENTRY is headquartered in Charlottetown, Canada, in the North America region.
How does SENTRY make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Real-time Monitoring Sensors are the primary driver. The others are sensor Hardware and Installation and professional Services and Training.
Who are SENTRY's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Real Tech Inc. and s::can Messtechnik GmbH. Broad incumbents are Hach (Danaher), Endress+Hauser and Xylem Analytics. Emerging players are Chelsea Technologies Group, Analytical Technology Inc. (ATI), LAR Process Analysers and Applitek (Endress+Hauser). Ovivo is listed as an others.
Does SENTRY have an API?
No public API is recorded for SENTRY.
What industry is SENTRY in?
SENTRY's product category is Water Quality Monitoring Sensors. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUANAJAC, Online Monitoring, Sensors & Instrumentation (SCADA-integrated analyzers, probes, samplers), with a secondary code of EUAHACAD, Wastewater & Industrial Effluent Monitoring (NPDES/Permit Compliance). Its NAICS code is 334516 and its SIC code is 3826.