WAMO: flood warnings and protection from blue-green algae
The energy transition, environmental pollution and climate change are well known to be among the great challenges of our time. The team at e.Ray Europa GmbH has therefore made it their mission to secure the use of our planet\'s existing foundations of life with sustainable solutions.
“We want to give municipalities area-wide flood warnings and water management at a fraction of current costs.”
– Sebastian Lemke (founder and managing director)
To achieve this goal, the Darmstadt-based company developed the floating measurement platform WAMO. The name stands for “Water Monitoring”, since the purpose of the award-winning innovation is the systematic surveillance of our waters with the help of satellite technology. Especially in 2021, it became clear once again that rivers and lakes are essential parts of the entire ecosystem. Accurate measurements help avert acute threats from unexpected once-in-a-century floods and combat the spread of blue-green algae.
WAMO is an autonomous, floating platform requiring low construction, operating and maintenance costs that can be deployed easily in any surface water body. The sensors collect information on water level, precipitation, temperature and pH, as well as parameters such as chlorophyll and nitrates. The high-precision measurements are transmitted in real time via satellite communication. Sudden disasters can thus be detected in time. In addition, a low-power ultrasonic device is used to stop the development of blue-green algae without affecting aquatic life. Over recent years, Germany has seen growing warnings about toxic blue-green algae in bathing lakes.
A decisive advantage of WAMO over conventional measurement stations is that the gauge is not limited. As a concrete example, take the once-in-a-century flood of mid-July 2021, which cost almost 200 lives. The measurement stations on the Ahr had a gauge limited to 5 metres; in the disaster, however, the level rose to 8 metres. The floating measurement station WAMO removes this limitation and can therefore deliver accurate measurement data even in unexpected water levels.
“No one in Germany should ever die in a flood again.”
– Michael Bogosyan (managing director of Dextro Group Germany GmbH)
WAMO\'s environmentally friendly and climate-efficient concept convinced the jury of the innovation competition. On 14 December 2021, e.Ray Europa GmbH from Darmstadt was thus honoured with a double win.
Galileo Masters Space Awards
Since 2004, Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen – AZO for short – has organised the Galileo Masters Space Awards. In the competition, more than 11,900 innovative projects from bright minds around the world have been presented across various categories. The projects are developed using GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). Partners include EUSPA (European Union Agency for the Space Programme), ESA (European Space Agency) and DLR (German Aerospace Center).
About e.Ray
e.Ray Europa GmbH is a Darmstadt-based company with altruistic principles. Its team shares a common vision. The problems of an ever-changing climate are to be addressed in future with adaptive and considerate technologies. The focus lies on the management of rivers and lakes, participation in solar-power projects for all citizens, and development cooperation in local and global contexts. The company always relies on collaborative approaches. Together with the City of Science Darmstadt, HEAG, the European Space Agency (ESA) and cesah GmbH (Center for Satellite Navigation Hesse), e.Ray Europa GmbH works on Smart City innovations.
Further reading
- e.Ray wins the innovation competition with a measuring station for area-wide flood protection – EUWID Wasser und Abwasser
- WAMO wins Galileo Masters Competition 2021 – Space of Innovation
WAMO today: in continuous operation across many waters
What started as an award-winning vision in 2021 now runs at Tollensesee and across Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. We will gladly show you what WAMO looks like for your water body.
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