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Meet the Swedish pioneers who revolutionized water purification

It all started in 2013

The idea for Watersprint was hatched on an autumn evening in 2013 at the Bishops Arms in Lund. Ola Hansson, MSc, and Professor Kenneth M. Persson reflected on the fact that the conventional, mercury-based UV technology used as a safety barrier in most of our water treatment works had not advanced for several decades.

A bright idea

Ultraviolet lamps were initially used as far back as 1910 in France to inactivate microorganisms and disinfect water, but technical development did not seem to have advanced regarding the light source itself. Meanwhile, the commercial use of eco-friendly blue and white light LEDs had spread widely in other fields. The development of LED technology had advanced to the extent that prototypes were producing light in the UVC range, opening up the potential use of UVC LEDs to create a new standard in water disinfection.

A world-leading innovation

With the help of Lars Montelius, Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, a proof-of-concept solution was developed, based on innovative UVC LED technology. The prototype rapidly attracted the interest of the wider world and investors. Today, Watersprint is one of the world’s leading companies in sustainable water disinfection and had launched fourth-generation UVC LED products.

”Clean water is the basis for our entire existence. Working on sustainable and eco-friendly water disinfection is both exciting and rewarding, and Watersprint’s close collaboration with Lund University gives us access to world-leading expertise in a wide range of fields.”

– André Carlsson, CEO of Watersprint

The founders of Watersprint

Ola Hansson
MSc and CEO of the WIN Water innovation platform.
Kenneth M Persson
Professor of Water Resources Engineering, Lund University, and Research Manager at Sydvatten
Lars Montelius
Professor Emeritus of Solid State Physics, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University