Sumaqua

What Sumaqua does

Sumaqua bv is a Belgian high-technology company, founded in 2017 as a spin-off from KU Leuven's Hydraulics Section, that delivers both professional consulting services and proprietary software (Sirio Design) for sustainable and climate-proof water management. Its consulting practice spans climate adaptation planning, water resources modelling and analyses, forecasting and intelligent control, risk analyses and policy support, and professional training and expertise courses. The Sirio Design software platform is the company's core product, used by over 70 organisations to create safer, more efficient, and sustainable hydraulic designs for rainwater buffers, infiltration ponds and ditches, including 100-year rainfall simulation, climate change scenario analysis, and rainwater harvesting optimization. The underlying technology is an in-house simulation engine reported to be up to a million times faster than conventional hydraulic models, combining detailed hydrodynamic models with parsimonious and conceptual models and machine-learning techniques to support real-time optimization. Sumaqua serves three primary customer segments: government agencies and municipalities (Flemish and Walloon environmental agencies, cities such as Bruges, Ghent and Leuven), engineering companies requiring hydraulic simulation tools, and industrial and agricultural operators with water management needs. Revenue is generated through professional services engagements (project-based consulting), recurring software licensing/subscription for Sirio Design (offered with a free demonstration version), and bespoke training courses. Go-to-market is predominantly sales-led and relationship-driven, supplemented by a self-serve/product-led motion for the Sirio software, with visibility reinforced through EU-funded research partnerships (ACLIMA, WIJ-Water, FORWARD) and the academic heritage of the KU Leuven Hydraulics Section.

Name

Sumaqua

Legal name

Sumaqua bv

Website

https://sumaqua.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sumaqua is a Belgian water-technology firm, spun out of KU Leuven in 2017, that provides consulting services and the Sirio Design software for hydraulic simulation, climate adaptation, and rainwater system design to government agencies, engineering firms, and industrial clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Management Software & Engineering Services

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Environmental Consulting Services (541620)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hydraulic Modeling & System Optimization (Calibration, Minimum Night Flow, Demand Analysis) (EUANAKAM), Water Quality & Watershed/Hydrologic Modeling (SWMM/HEC-RAS, Flood/Runoff/Nutrient) (EUAHAKAF), Flood Risk Modeling, Mapping & Forecasting (Hydrology/Hydraulics, Digital Twins) (EUANAEAH)

Keywords

• Hydraulic simulation software
• Water management consulting
• Climate adaptation services
• Rainwater system design
• Water resources modeling

Headquarters

HQ city

Leuven

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Water management consulting services: Professional consulting services including climate adaptation planning, water resources modeling, risk analyses, and policy support.
2. Sirio Design Software: Proprietary software for hydraulic design optimization. Offered with free trial/demo and likely subscription or license-based pricing.
3. Training and expertise courses: Professional training courses for water sector professionals on hydrological processes, hydraulic modeling, statistical analyses, and software usage.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sumaqua sells proprietary hydraulic simulation software (Sirio Design) for designing and optimising rainwater systems, buffers, infiltration ponds and ditches, paired with consulting services in climate adaptation, water resources modelling, forecasting and intelligent control, risk analyses, policy support, and professional training. The offering combines SaaS-style software with bespoke scientific consulting to support climate-proof water infrastructure decisions for governments, engineering firms, and industrial clients.

Product overview

Sumaqua is an independent high-tech company offering both consulting services and software products for water management. The core software product is Sirio Design (launched in 2023, formerly Sirio), which is used for hydraulic design of rainwater systems. The company provides consulting services including climate adaptation, water resources modelling and analyses, forecasting and intelligent control, risk analyses and policy making, innovation, and expertise and training. Sirio Design is their flagship software product for digitizing rainwater management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sirio Design: Software tool to create safer, more efficient and sustainable hydraulic designs for rainwater buffers, infiltration ponds and ditches. Includes rainwater harvesting analysis capabilities.

Products and services

• Sirio Design Proprietary hydraulic simulation software for designing safer, more efficient and sustainable rainwater buffers, infiltration ponds and ditches. It simulates 100 years of rainfall, performs rainwater harvesting analysis, applies climate change scenarios for no-regret designs, and delivers design optimisation in minutes; runs simulations in seconds; offered via a free time-limited demo and commercial licensing.
• Climate Adaptation Consulting Bespoke climate adaptation planning service for cities, regions and infrastructure operators, combining climate-impact quantification, scenario analysis and mitigation planning. Used by clients including the City of Bruges (2018-2021) and other Flemish/Walloon municipalities.
• Water Resources Modelling & Analysis Hydrodynamic and hydrologic modelling and analysis services for water systems, including flood hazard mapping (e.g., Flanders Hydraulics 2019-2022), sewer impact assessment (VLARIO) and big-data applications for water resources planning.
• Forecasting & Intelligent Control Real-time forecasting and intelligent control services for water systems, including ML-based drought/low-flow forecasting (hAIdro project for VMM) and intelligent control of navigable waterways (Service Public Wallonie).
• Risk Analyses & Policy Making Risk analysis and water-policy support services for governments and infrastructure operators, including Blue Deal impact monitoring (CIW, 2021-2023) and climate-impact quantification for the energy sector (EBS, Suriname).
• Training & Expertise Courses Professional training courses for water-sector professionals on hydrological processes, hydraulic modelling, statistical analyses and Sumaqua software usage; delivered on-site or tailored to client needs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100 years of rainfall simulated in seconds
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Interreg Vlaanderen-Nederland (WIJ-Water Project)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Cross-border initiative between Flanders and Netherlands transforming polder landscape into climate-resilient freshwater system. Sumaqua participates as partner in this climate adaptation project.
• Water JPI (Joint Programming Initiative)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean research initiative for water conservation. Listed as supporting partner of Sumaqua.
• KU Leuven (Hydraulics Section)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSumaqua originated from the Hydraulics Section of the University of Leuven. The company maintains close ties with KU Leuven for research and talent development.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Stantec: Stantec is a global engineering and consulting firm with a sizable Water practice providing climate adaptation, flood risk, and hydraulic modeling services. It competes with Sumaqua for large public-sector water mandates and offers in-house modeling capabilities at much greater scale.
• Bentley Systems (OpenFlows / SewerGEMS): Bentley's OpenFlows portfolio (SewerGEMS, CivilStorm, PondPack) provides urban drainage and stormwater modeling within its broader infrastructure digital-twin suite. It competes with Sirio for engineering-company seats, but as part of a much larger AEC software portfolio.
• Autodesk (Innovyze / InfoWorks): Autodesk acquired Innovyze and now sells InfoWorks ICM and related hydraulic modeling software to utilities and engineering firms globally. It is a broad incumbent whose stormwater and sewer network modeling capabilities overlap with Sirio's design optimization use cases.
• Royal HaskoningDHV: Royal HaskoningDHV is a large international engineering consultancy with deep water-management practices (Flood App, Aquasuite) and serves government and industrial clients on climate adaptation, flood risk, and water systems. It is a broader incumbent that competes for the same public-sector consulting mandates Sumaqua targets in Benelux.

Regional players

• Sweco: Sweco is a European engineering consultancy with significant water and climate-adaptation practices, including hydraulic modeling and urban drainage projects across the Nordics and Benelux. It overlaps with Sumaqua's consulting services and competes for municipal climate-adaptation RFPs in nearby geographies.

Direct peers

• DHI (Danish Hydraulic Institute): DHI develops MIKE+ and MIKE HYDRO software for hydraulic and hydrological modeling, serving water utilities, governments, and engineering consultancies worldwide. It is the most direct competitor to Sumaqua's Sirio Design, operating a similar model of specialized modeling software plus domain consulting for urban drainage, rivers, and coastal waters.
• Aquaveo: Aquaveo develops GMS, WMS and SMS groundwater/surface-water modeling software widely used by engineering firms and government agencies. It is a direct niche competitor in hydraulic simulation tooling, though with a US-centric footprint and broader water-resource coverage than Sirio.
• Hydrotec (Hydro-Engineering Consultancy and Software): Hydrotec is a German firm offering hydraulic modeling software (NASIM, WBalMo) plus consulting for urban hydrology, flood management, and sewer networks. It overlaps almost one-to-one with Sumaqua's consulting-plus-software offering in the DACH / German-speaking market.
• Flood Modeller (Jacobs): Flood Modeller, part of Jacobs, provides 1D/2D hydrodynamic modeling software for rivers, floodplains and urban drainage used by consultancies and agencies worldwide. It is a direct peer in the flood-risk and hydraulic simulation software category that Sumaqua targets with Sirio.
• KISTERS: KISTERS provides water resources management and forecasting software (KiWIS, WATERWare) used by utilities, agencies, and engineering firms across Europe and globally. It competes head-to-head with Sirio Design in real-time water management, forecasting, and intelligent control.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sumaqua

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sumaqua