What 3D EAU does

3D EAU is a French hydraulic engineering consultancy founded in 2014 as a spin-off of the ICube fluid mechanics laboratory at ENGEES, University of Strasbourg. The firm specializes in 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling adapted from aerospace/aeronautics to urban water infrastructure, serving municipalities and public water utilities managing sanitation networks, drinking water systems, and river hydraulics. Co-founders Jonathan Wertel (CEO, ENGEES engineer, PhD) and José Vazquez (ENGEES professor, INSA engineer, PhD) lead a 22-person team comprising 1 professor, 8 PhDs, and 13 engineers, headquartered in Strasbourg with offices in Paris and a manufacturing workshop near Lyon.

The company's offering combines three integrated revenue streams: (1) custom hydraulic engineering studies including 3D CFD modeling, sedimentation diagnostics, vortex risk assessment, and self-monitoring system design; (2) patented hardware products manufactured in-house (PAC sediment trap, Deomatic storage valve, mobile siphon partition for macro-waste, and the Josette flow measurement weir); and (3) professional training courses in measurement uncertainty and network modeling. Technology assets include proprietary 3D modeling methodology, two registered patents, and a portfolio of peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Journal of Hydraulic Research and TSM. The firm operates across France and internationally (Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Belgium) with project delivery in French, English, and German.

Following a 2022 merger with ALCOM Group, 3D EAU now operates as part of a four-company group specializing in AI and modeling solutions for environmental protection. The partnership with Hydrass (2020) provides equipment manufacturing depth, while engineering firm partnerships (notably ARUP) enable international delivery without proportional headcount growth. Customer concentration sits with French municipal water utilities and select European public-sector clients, with project-based pricing across studies, equipment, and training.

Name

3D EAU

Legal name

3D EAU

Website

https://3deau.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

3D EAU is a French hydraulic engineering consultancy providing 3D CFD modeling, patented hydraulic equipment, and training for municipalities and public water utilities managing urban sanitation, drinking water, and river systems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Strasbourg

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering Studies (Hydraulic Consulting): 3D EAU conducts custom hydraulic engineering studies including permanent diagnostics, design, instrumentation, sediment transport diagnosis, and 3D modeling for complex hydraulic structures. These are professional services billed per project, likely on a time-and-materials or fixed-fee basis.
2. Hydraulic Equipment Products: Manufacture and sale of hydraulic equipment tailored to client needs: storage valves (vannes de stockage), sediment traps (pièges à charriage/cailloux), flow measurement weirs, and other custom equipment. Products are manufactured in-house in workshops near Lyon, France.
3. Professional Training: 3D EAU offers training courses in sanitation including measurement uncertainty on hydrological quantities, storage valve integration in network models, and flow measurement in sanitation systems.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

3D EAU is a hydraulic engineering consultancy that conducts custom 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies and supplies purpose-built hydraulic equipment (storage valves, sediment traps, flow measurement weirs, mobile siphon partitions) for municipal wastewater, drinking water, and river infrastructure. The firm combines proprietary 3D modeling and AI techniques with in-house manufacturing to design, diagnose, and instrument hydraulic structures, and delivers professional training to sanitation sector professionals.

Product overview

3D EAU offers a portfolio of hydraulic engineering products and services focused on urban water management. The core offering combines proprietary hardware products (storage valves, sediment traps, floating debris barriers, and flow measurement equipment) manufactured in their Lyon workshops with specialized engineering services including 3D hydraulic modeling, self-monitoring solutions, and diagnostic services. The company serves collective sanitation, drinking water, and river sectors, providing both custom-designed measurement equipment and AI-enhanced modeling services for infrastructure optimization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HYDRASS-3D EAU: A combined offering from the 2020 partnership with Hydrass, providing integrated hydraulic measurement and sewage discharge reduction solutions.

Products and services

• Storage Valves (Vannes de stockage) Hydrodynamic storage and regulation valves installed in sewage networks to temporarily retain water during wet weather and reduce overflow discharges into the natural environment. Designed and manufactured in-house for municipalities and water utilities.
• Sediment Trap / Coarse Material Trap (Piège à charriage / Piège à cailloux) Patented stainless steel trough integrated into a concrete chamber that captures coarse sands, gravel, and stones while allowing organic matter to pass, protecting pumping stations from abrasion and reducing maintenance costs.
• Mobile Siphon Partition (Cloison siphoïde mobile) Movable siphon partition device installed in sewage networks to trap floating macro-waste and prevent debris from reaching natural water bodies during overflow events.
• Flow Measurement Solutions (Fiabilisation de la mesure de débit) Custom-designed flow measurement structures including calibrated weirs such as the Josette rounded notch weir, Venturi channels, and INOX overflow crests for reliable discharge measurement in water supply and sanitation networks.
• 3D Hydraulic Modeling Services Custom CFD and 0D/1D/3D hydraulic modeling studies combining AI with standard techniques to analyze flow patterns, optimize hydraulic structure design, and validate performance before construction. Delivered to municipalities, water utilities, and engineering firms.
• Self-Monitoring / Compliance Solutions (Autosurveillance) Continuous monitoring and self-monitoring solutions for sewage networks including measurement device design, hydraulic diagnostics, and compliance support against French arrêté du 21 juillet 2015 requirements.
• Permanent Diagnostic Services (Diagnostic permanent) Ongoing diagnostic services for sanitation networks to assess performance, identify issues, structure indicators, and support network management decisions.
• Professional Training (Formations) Training programs on hydraulic measurement uncertainty, integration of storage valves in network models, and flow measurement in sanitation systems, targeted at water sector professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3D EAU diagnostic showed that 15% of Orléans Métropole's main collector has zero or negative slope, identifying critical sedimentation risk zones and enabling targeted investment prioritization.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• ARUPmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 20253D EAU served as technical partner to ARUP on the Mataró (Spain) sanitation network digitization project. 3D EAU provided hydraulic analysis and custom metrology design while ARUP handled implementation of sensors and instrumentation solutions in the network. This partnership combined 3D EAU's technical and metrological expertise with ARUP's local execution capacity.
• ALCOM GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022In 2022, 3D EAU and the ALCOM Group merged their expertise. ALCOM Group now comprises four companies specialized in innovative solutions based on artificial intelligence and modeling for environmental protection and water cycle management. Services include river monitoring, flood diagnosis, water level optimization, vineyard and forest protection. All AI systems are created by ALCOM Group.
• HydrasscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2020In 2020, 3D EAU partnered with Hydrass, a company with 30 years of experience developing, manufacturing, and supplying simple and robust equipment for optimizing sanitation network operation. The partnership combines 3D EAU's modeling and engineering expertise with Hydrass's equipment manufacturing capabilities. Solutions are designed and manufactured in Hydrass/3D EAU workshops near Lyon.
• Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE/IPSL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with LSCE/IPSL and Orléans Métropole on a sediment profiling project in Orléans' main collector. LSCE performed detailed sediment core analysis including granulometry and mineral/organic phase alternation to reconstruct the history of supply, deposition, and erosion phases.
• ICube Laboratory (ENGEES, INSA Strasbourg, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner3D EAU originated from the ICube fluid mechanics laboratory. The company implements research know-how developed at ICube for studying hydraulic structures. Close ties guarantee rigor and excellence. ICube founders include José Vazquez (professor) and Jonathan Wertel (PhD). Multiple CIFRE PhD theses were conducted jointly by 3D EAU and ICube.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HR Wallingford: UK-based research-to-consultancy firm specializing in civil hydraulics, sediment transport, and hydraulic-structure design. Directly comparable on 3D physical and numerical modeling for water and wastewater infrastructure, with an overlapping research-led consulting model and similar product/equipment business lines.
• Deltares: Dutch applied research organization focused on water, subsurface, and infrastructure, with strong 3D CFD and urban hydrology capabilities. Competes for the same European municipal contracts and large multi-year hydraulic-engineering programs, and shares the research-to-practice positioning 3D EAU uses.
• DHI Group: Global specialist in water-environment modeling (MIKE suite of 1D/2D/3D hydraulic models) and water-engineering consulting. DHI is the most direct international analog to 3D EAU's CFD-led urban hydraulics practice and competes for the same municipal self-monitoring and flood studies.
• Hydrass: 3D EAU's 2020 commercial partner (HYDRASS-3D EAU), with 30 years of experience developing sanitation-network equipment. The two firms jointly design and manufacture products like storage valves and sediment traps near Lyon, making Hydrass the closest twin to 3D EAU's equipment-manufacturing arm and a natural like-for-like on project scope.
• Hydroconseil: French water-management and hydraulic-engineering consultancy serving utilities, regulators, and donors. Directly comparable to 3D EAU in client base (French-speaking water utilities and municipalities), scale, and scope of water-and-sanitation advisory work.

Broad incumbents

• Tractebel (Engie): Engineering arm of Engie providing consultancy across energy, water, and urban infrastructure, including large-scale hydraulic-structure design. A broad incumbent with the resources to win and self-deliver the kind of municipal hydraulic projects 3D EAU targets.
• Artelia: Large independent French engineering group with a strong water, environment, and urban infrastructure practice. Operates as a broad incumbent across the same municipal water-engineering value chain where 3D EAU competes, with much deeper resources.
• Setec: Major French multi-disciplinary engineering firm with hydrology, hydraulics, and water-infrastructure expertise. Overlaps with 3D EAU on French municipal water projects but competes as part of a broader engineering rather than a focused hydraulics specialist.
• Egis: International French engineering and consulting group with a dedicated water and environment business line serving municipalities and infrastructure operators. Comparable to 3D EAU on water-sector client overlap but with a much wider service portfolio and global footprint.
• SUEZ Consulting (formerly SAFEGE): Engineering and consulting arm of SUEZ serving water utilities and municipalities across Europe. Competes in the same municipal water and sanitation-engineering market as 3D EAU, with a much wider service portfolio and global footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@3deau331
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3d-eau

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 3D EAU