The METland® technology has received the Innovation Award 2021 from the International Society for Microbial Electrochemistry and Technology-ISMET, as announced on 14th September during the European meeting of this institution (EU-ISMET2020). This solution for wastewater treatment has been developed within the Bioe Group, led by Abraham Esteve Núñez, associate professor at the University of Alcalá and researcher at IMDEA Agua.

The purpose of this distinction is to recognise the best technical innovation in the field of microbial electrochemical technologies published between July of the previous year and the nomination deadline. Nominations for the awards are judged competitively by a scientific committee and selected based on the quality and impact of the research or discovery.

Esteve Núñez stressed that this recognition «means the support of the scientific community to the research developed in the Bioe Group over more than a decade of multidisciplinary work».

METland® allows treating wastewater sustainably without energy cost and with high efficiency for the removal of organic pollutants, nitrogen, and phosphates from urban wastewater. In addition, it can be integrated into small communities and isolated homes, with a plant-based solution that increases its visual appeal. The robustness of this system has also been proven in the degradation of micropollutants such as antibiotics, hormones, or pesticides present in wastewater. Several units are already operating worldwide, commercialized through METfilter, the technology-based company in which IMDEA Agua participates.