Smart Ops, a global environmental technology company, has launched a groundbreaking biotechnology solution to improve access to clean water in India. The Smart Ops SCR System, which has been verified by the Ministry of Water (Jal Shakti), represents a pioneering advancement in water treatment and rejuvenation technology.

Established by Irish inventor Dr Liam Ryan and UK businessmen Minesh Patel and Priyesh Patel MBE, Smart Ops leverages advancements in material science, biotechnology, and engineering. The system achieves in hours what traditional water treatment technologies or natural processes would take months or even years to accomplish.

Over the past two years, the Smart Ops research team has perfected SABRE Spheres — stabilised aerobic or anaerobic bioengineered reaction environments — crafted from seaweed waste and embedded with targeted natural bacteria and enzymes. These spheres emulate the natural filtration capabilities of oysters, serving as the core component of the Smart Ops SCR System. This technology offers continuous active filtration, significantly reducing costs, infrastructure needs, and energy requirements for providing clean, usable water in various settings.

Currently, the Smart Ops system is deployed across more than 10 projects in India, purifying millions of litres of water. With hundreds of millions of litres slated for treatment in the coming months, this technology is poised to make a substantial impact.

Sustainable Solution for India

The Smart Ops SCR System uses only 10 per cent of the land footprint, requires no concrete, and eliminates the need for a large sewer network. This local deployment system treats and recycles water cost-effectively, with minimal environmental impact.

Globally, Smart Ops has completed several test projects. In India, the company collaborates with local municipalities, the Centre, and industrial partners to address industrial and municipal water sources and polluted public water bodies, where conventional treatment solutions fall short.

In Mumbai’s Ganesh Lake, Smart Ops purified 18 million litres of polluted water within 48 hours. In Pimpri (Pune), the company is treating water in four lakes, totaling over 2,500 million litres, and combating the spread of water hyacinth along three rivers.

Industry First Accreditation in India

Following the success of these projects and ongoing collaboration with Prof. Vinod Tare, founder of cGanga and lecturer at IIT Kanpur, Smart Ops has become the first large-scale water treatment company in India to receive certification from the Governmental Environment Technology Verification Programme.

“This certification is a testament to the technology’s rigorous testing and adherence to stringent industry standards. The SCR System can be deployed in just 15 per cent of the time required for conventional systems, using less than 10 per cent of the land space, and can be installed on waste land or floated over water bodies, treating water close to the source of pollution,” the company said.

With this verification, Smart Ops technology is now officially certified in India for decentralised sewage treatment plants, ranging from 0.2 to 100 million litres per day, retrofitting existing under-performing sewage treatment plants. This technology will also be used to clean lakes, rivers, and other polluted waterways, including open sewers, as well as in industrial applications such as poultry farms, dye houses, and sugar cane/ bioethanol industries.

New Model

Minesh Patel, Director at Smart Ops said: “Communities and industries around the world are losing access to water where the conventional water treatment model hasn’t kept pace with pollution levels. In Mumbai, for example, essential businesses had to shut down multiple times last year, with water cuts for up to 13 days. With a new model for smaller, modular treatment, we can restore access to water and help the environment recover.”  

“This certification paves the way for Smart-Ops’ rapid growth in India and globally, using India as our site of production as well as our largest market currently,” said Dr Liam Ryan Director at Smart Ops.

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