Upwater

Wastewater Treatment Environmental Diagnosticsupwater.ch

Upwater AG provides online greenhouse gas measurement systems and weekly DNA-based microbiome analysis to municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland, enabling emissions reporting, process optimization, and antibiotic resistance monitoring through subscription-based measurement and consulting services.

Company typePrivate
Founded2022
HeadquartersDübendorf, Switzerland
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What Upwater does

Upwater AG is a Swiss environmental diagnostics company founded in 2022 as a spin-off from Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology. The company develops and operates two complementary measurement products for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants: (1) Abluftmessung, an online off-gas measurement system that monitors greenhouse gas emissions (nitrous oxide, methane, CO2) and oxygen at up to 14 measurement points per site, with web access, alarming, and integration into plant control systems; and (2) Biomonitoring, a weekly 16S-rRNA DNA sequencing service, run from the company's own laboratory in Horw, that profiles the wastewater microbiome to deliver automated reports covering species identification, temporal trends, benchmarking, and alerting. The technology is anchored in 20 years of measurement research developed at Eawag, and the four co-founders hold doctoral degrees from ETH and German universities and continue to publish through Eawag.

The company's commercial proposition is process optimization for wastewater treatment operators: combining continuous emissions data with microbiome analytics to enable earlier warning of process upsets, aeration and energy optimization, climate reporting (including the Swiss Klik-Programm for emission reduction credits), and antibiotic resistance monitoring. Upwater monetizes through subscription/recurring contracts structured as multi-year measurement campaigns or fixed installations with consulting support, sold via a direct, sales-led approach to wastewater treatment plant operators in Switzerland. The company is privately held, 100% founder-owned, headquartered in Dübendorf with a sequencing laboratory in Horw, and operates with a team of approximately 8-10 people; no external funding rounds, customer logos, or revenue figures have been disclosed.

Upwater firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Upwater
Legal name: upwater AG
Website: https://upwater.ch
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2022
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: Upwater AG provides online greenhouse gas measurement systems and weekly DNA-based microbiome analysis to municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland, enabling emissions reporting, process optimization, and antibiotic resistance monitoring through subscription-based measurement and consulting services.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Upwater industry classification

Industry

Product category: Wastewater Treatment Environmental Diagnostics
NAICS: Totalizing Fluid Meter and Counting Device Manufacturing (334514)
SIC: Totalizing Fluid Meters & Counting Devices (3824)
akta.pro primary industry: Wastewater & Industrial Effluent Monitoring (NPDES/Permit Compliance) (EUAHACAD)
akta.pro secondary industry: Online Monitoring, Sensors & Instrumentation (SCADA-integrated analyzers, probes, samplers) (EUANAJAC)

Keywords

Greenhouse gas monitoring
Wastewater treatment diagnostics
Microbiome analysis services
Off-gas measurement systems
Environmental monitoring technology

Where Upwater is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Dübendorf
HQ country: Switzerland
HQ region: Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

Upwater business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

Off-Gas Measurement Services: Measurement campaign or fixed installation services for greenhouse gas emissions at wastewater treatment plants. Includes climate reporting, emission reduction programs, and aeration optimization.
Biomonitoring Services: Weekly DNA sequencing analysis of wastewater treatment plant microbiome with automated reporting, benchmarking, and alerting. Includes consulting for combined interpretation with operational data.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Subscription	Multi-year contract	Custom measurement campaigns or fixed installations

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Upwater product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Upwater AG provides environmental diagnostic services for wastewater treatment plants, combining online off-gas measurement systems (nitrous oxide, methane, CO2, oxygen) with weekly DNA-based microbiome analysis (16S-rRNA sequencing). The company offers measurement campaigns or fixed installations, automated reporting with benchmarking and alerting, and consulting that combines biomonitoring with operational data for process optimization.

Product overview

Upwater AG offers a dual-product portfolio for wastewater treatment plant diagnostics: (1) Abluftmessung (off-gas measurement) for online monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions (nitrous oxide, methane, CO₂) and oxygen with up to 14 measurement points, offering fixed installation or measurement campaign options with web access and control system integration; and (2) Biomonitoring based on 16S-rRNA DNA sequencing of the treatment plant microbiome, providing weekly automated analysis reports with species identification, benchmarking, and alerting capabilities. Both offerings are supported by consulting services for operational optimization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Abluftmessung (Off-gas Measurement) Online measurement system for greenhouse gas emissions (nitrous oxide, methane, CO2) and oxygen levels at wastewater treatment plants. Supports up to 14 measurement points with web access, alarming, and control system integration. Delivered as measurement campaigns or fixed installations. Includes services for climate reporting, Klik-Programm emission reduction participation, and aeration optimization. Developed at Eawag with 20 years of proven operation.
Biomonitoring (16S-rRNA Microbiome Sequencing) DNA sequencing service for wastewater treatment plant microbiome analysis using 16S-rRNA sequencing performed in the upwater laboratory in Horw. Provides weekly automated reports with species identification, temporal trends, benchmarking, and alerting. Includes consulting for combined interpretation of biomonitoring and operational data, early warning of process problems, microbiological process monitoring, evaluation of optimization strategies, and antibiotic resistance monitoring.

Quantifiable outcome

Energy consumption reduction through aeration optimization
+1 more outcomes

Companies that use Upwater

Customer profile

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Upwater technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Upwater partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Eawag is the parent research institution from which upwater AG was spun off in 2022. The company was founded by Eawag researchers and the technology was developed and proven at Eawag over 20 measurement years. The founders continue to have publications with Eawag. Eawag provided the foundational research and development for the greenhouse gas measurement and microbiome analysis technology.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Upwater competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Upwater financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Upwater leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Upwater funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

Upwater M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Upwater

What does Upwater do?

Is Upwater a public or private company?

Upwater is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.

When was Upwater founded?

Upwater was founded in 2022. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is Upwater based?

Upwater is headquartered in Dübendorf, Switzerland, in the Europe region.

How does Upwater make money?

Two revenue lines are on record. Off-Gas Measurement Services are the primary driver. The others are biomonitoring Services.

Does Upwater have an API?

No public API is recorded for Upwater.

What industry is Upwater in?

Upwater's product category is Wastewater Treatment Environmental Diagnostics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUAHACAD, Wastewater & Industrial Effluent Monitoring (NPDES/Permit Compliance), with a secondary code of EUANAJAC, Online Monitoring, Sensors & Instrumentation (SCADA-integrated analyzers, probes, samplers). Its NAICS code is 334514 and its SIC code is 3824.