AQUA-Hub

India's cities are faced with the complicated task of meeting the infrastructure requirements of rapidly growing regions. Water scarcity, inadequate wastewater treatment, as well as lack of access to and knowledge of technological solutions pose major challenges for India's water management. At the same time, many German actors have knowledge and specialised technologies that can make a contribution to mastering these challenges achieving a sustainable goals with a high environmental benefits. However, the often specialised and decentralised companies find it difficult to gain a foothold in the market. In AQUA-Hub, the so called Water Innovation Hubs were realised in two Smart Cities, Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) and Solapur (Maharashtra), and were accompanied by pilot measures of German measuring technology for water quality monitoring. The project AQUA-Hub addresses the needs of the local water sectors identified in previous projects, as well as the challenges of the German water sector to build projects, relationships and business in the Indian market. A local presence is of great importance for the relations and information exchange between German and Indian actors. Besides networking activities and the mediation of business partners, the hubs fulfil the function of project centres for the realisation of demonstration projects and increase the exposure of Indian partners with technologies "Made in Germany". The piloting of German measurement technology for water quality monitoring, as planned in the project, thus offered the opportunity to meet these needs with manageable investments and risks and to create the basis for both better data availability on site as a starting point for measures to meet environmental goals and a connecting point for subsequent technology transfer. The further development of the Water Innovation Hubs was advised by a project advisory board consisting of the main institutions of country cooperation. Additional services of the hubs were developed to create a sustainable, financially viable and transferable format that can be used in other regions. At the same time, the technological adaptation needs of German measurement technology was determined. AQUA-Hub creates the basis for strengthening Indo-German cooperation, contributing to the solution of water-related challenges and increasing the export opportunities of German companies.