IBAIA develops multi-sensing platform monitoring water pollution

06 Mar 2025

EU project will help meet goals of European Green Deal

A European consortium is developing a photonic sensing platform to track pollution and industrial waste in rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Funded by €4.7 million from the Horizon Europe Framework and running until the end of 2026, the IBAIA project aims to equip its device with four novel functionalized sensor modules for detecting microplastics, organic chemicals, nutrient salts, and heavy metals, as well as measuring salinity and physicochemical parameters.

The four sensors will be packaged into a modular multi-sensing system, offering a one-size-fits-all solution for many end users. IBAIA and its technological innovations are also intended to help Europe meet the EU European Green Deal targets.

Assessment of water quality continues to rely largely on laboratory analysis of collected samples using mass spectrometry and chromatography, an expensive and time-consuming workflow. The limited availability of lab facilities can mean testing is infrequent, leaving dangerous gaps in monitoring.

Consequently the goal of continuous environmental water monitoring has become more important, with climate change, industrial expansion and geopolitical conflicts all adding to the strain on Europe's water systems. IBAIA should allow authorities and industries to detect contamination before it causes irreversible damage to ecosystems and water-dependent sectors.

"Environmental water pollution might be one of the most urgent yet overlooked crises of our time," commented Radwan Chahal from France's CNRS research center and Project Manager at IBAIA. "However, IBAIA’s sensing technology is set to become a gold standard in water monitoring, protecting our health and our environment."

Real-time detection means swift intervention

The four modules inside IBAIA will include two functionalized spectroscopic detectors. One employs mid-infrared sensing to detect organic chemicals, based on the integration of chip-array quantum cascade laser (QCL) sources and a III-IV detector.

A second VIS-NIR sensor module is based on rare earth-doped oxide glass for salinity measurements and detection of microplastics. Using two glass-based integrated sensors for interferometry will enable determination of the absolute salinity of water, using a self-referencing interferometer and the first optical detector of microplastics, according to the consortium.

In addition, an optode sensor combining optical and electronic detection will measure key physicochemical parameters such as pH, oxygen level and temperature using chemical-sensitive dyes that react to environmental conditions. A final electrochemical sensor will measure the electrical response of substances interacting with the sensor surface, looking in particular for heavy metals in water and the nutrient salts that contribute to harmful algae blooms.

"Real-time detection means swift intervention," said Izabella Otalega from project partner Modus Research and Innovation. "Pollution can be intercepted before it spreads, and environmental agencies can act before contamination spirals into crisis. In a world where toxic spills and chemical leaks have often been discovered only when it's too late, speed and accuracy are essential."

The IBAIA project involves 17 partners across eight contries, with other members including QCL developers mirSense and Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (IPHT).

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