Oficina de Comunicació

Neurite, a Catalan startup, has developed AI-based software to predict water behavior in river basins. The software provides real-time predictions, such as the expected flow rate of rivers in the following hours, and can also offer information on the risk of floods or overflows. This tool is primarily aimed at public entities responsible for managing river basins, as it automates data collection and accelerates the process.

Neurite has benefited from the Startup Capital grant from ACCIÓ, the agency for business competitiveness under the Department of Business and Labor. The startup has received €75,000, which will be used to finance activities related to the execution of the initial business plan, such as covering personnel expenses, contracting third-party services, investing in equipment, or renting spaces, among others.

To predict water behavior, the software combines data from numerical models (collected through sensors installed in rivers, rain gauges, meteorological radars, and others) with AI algorithms. These algorithms analyze, through deep learning techniques, human activities such as water extraction for irrigation, human consumption, or electricity generation.

According to the company’s CEO, Francesc Batlle, “our software mainly offers immediacy and precision to the public entities responsible for managing river basins.” “Until now, these predictions were made through other analytical methods, which were slow and quickly became outdated,” he adds.

Batlle emphasizes that “it is difficult to predict the management of water in river basins both because of the limited analytical tools we have and the physical and human factors involved.” The software stores data in the cloud, which is automatically updated in real-time as new information becomes available.

This way, Batlle explains, “we have access to all knowledge about water movement, and with this combination of calculations, we can extrapolate it to any other point in the basin.”

The startup targets water management organizations and already developed a pilot project in 2021 with the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) to predict flow rates in the headwaters of the Ter River, which, according to the CEO, “was a success with very good results.” Batlle adds, “This encourages us to now target other types of users, such as water supply companies, hydropower plants, or irrigation communities.”

The software can be applied to any “water body” (rivers, lakes, and river basins, among others). According to company data, there are 383 “water bodies” in Catalonia, 4,000 in Spain, and over 136,000 in the EU. Founded in 2018 and based in Barcelona, Neurite currently has a team of five people. The company aims to expand its software to other areas, such as applying artificial intelligence for data prediction in the business environment.