Seven approaches to clean water: First EriCa Reactor cohort moves towards the market
According to WHO and UNICEF, 2.1 billion people globally lack access to safely managed drinking water. Kemira’s solutions already help enable clean water for around 400 million people worldwide. Both figures show the scale of the challenge – and why no single company or technology can solve it alone.
That is why clean water was selected as the theme for the first EriCa Reactor cohort.
On 20 August, 2026 the sold-out EriCa Reactor Demo Day brought close to 100 people from industry, investors, startups, research and the wider innovation ecosystem to EriCa Green Chemistry Park in Espoo.
Seven teams from five countries took the stage to share what they had learned, where their solutions are heading and what kind of customers, pilot partners, investors and collaborators they are looking for next.
Different technologies for different parts of the water challenge
The cohort demonstrated how broad the clean water challenge is. Improving water quality is not only about purification. It also involves monitoring water in real time, recovering valuable materials, reducing waste and chemical use, improving industrial processes and developing new materials.
The seven teams approach these questions from different directions:
- Anferra uses circular chemistry to turn iron-rich industrial residues into useful water-treatment chemicals and other recoverable materials.
- CAAMA / University of Oulu develops a reusable adsorbent-based process that removes metals from industrial water and enables their recovery as valuable resources.
- Countertrace develops programmable polymer pellets designed to selectively capture targeted substances from water and release them for recovery or safe handling.
- NPHarvest recovers nitrogen and phosphorus from nutrient-rich wastewater and converts them into fertilizer products.
- P-Agro Minerals develops a filtration system that removes phosphorus from wastewater and enables it to be reused as a soil amendment.
- Spectromarine combines underwater optical sensing and analytics to give industrial water operators continuous insight into water quality and biofouling.
- Wellmatix uses AI to guide the discovery and optimization of advanced materials for water-treatment challenges such as contaminant removal and sludge dewatering.
Together, these approaches span chemistry, materials science, resource recovery, sensing, data and artificial intelligence. They also show why solving the water challenge requires collaboration between different technologies, industries and areas of expertise.
Five months of moving closer to the market
EriCa Reactor helps sustainable deep tech scale from lab to market with industry. Implemented by Crazy Town in partnership with Kemira, the program combines startup agility with industrial R&D expertise, market insight and global reach.
During the five-month program, the teams worked with Kemira experts and coaches, as well as partners and investors from the ecosystem to identify opportunities, validate use cases and understand what would be required to move their technologies forward.
The work focused on customer and industry needs, commercial focus, pilot preparation, industrial testing, investor readiness and finding the right partners for the next stage.
The results look different for every team, as they should. Across the cohort, teams:
- refined their business cases and commercial focus based on industry feedback
- prepared pilot plans and pathways towards industrial validation
- advanced commercial and collaboration discussions
- strengthened their investor readiness and built new funding connections
- connected with potential customers, partners and ecosystems in Finland and elsewhere in Europe
- moved research-based cases closer to company formation and strengthened their teams
- built close working relationships with industry mentors and experts
Some commercial discussions and pilot preparations are still ongoing and cannot yet be shared publicly. We will tell more about the teams and their individual progress later.
One public example is Wellmatix from South Korea. With support from the program, the company completed its soft landing in Finland and established Wellmatix Oy in summer of 2026. The team now has its Finnish home base at EriCa and is building relationships with customers and partners in Finland.
Demo Day was a meeting point, not only a stage
Demo Day gave the teams an opportunity to present their progress, but the stage was only one part of the afternoon. The conversations continued during networking and the informal afterwork, bringing the teams together with Kemira experts, investors and potential collaborators.
Deep-tech commercialization rarely advances through a single pitch or meeting. It requires sustained work, trust, technical understanding and the right people finding reasons to continue together.
This is also what EriCa is designed to provide: physical infrastructure, access to industry and the social capital needed to turn technical progress into commercial progress.
Demo Day was therefore not simply the end of a cohort. For many of the teams, it opened the next phase of pilot preparation, commercial validation, fundraising, company-building and international collaboration.
Thank you to all seven teams, Kemira, our coaches and mentors, investors, ecosystem partners and everyone who joined us at Demo Day, as well as supported the teams.
Next EriCa Reactor call now open
At Demo Day, we also introduced the second EriCa Reactor cohort: Enabling a circular future via fiber-based renewable packaging.
We are looking globally for startups, scaleups and research-based spinoffs developing solutions in renewable packaging, advanced functionality and product properties, recyclability, process efficiency, chemical solutions, digital and AI applications, and new business models.
The program is intended for teams with validated technology at TRL 4 or above that are ready to work with industry and take concrete steps towards pilots, commercialization and international growth.
The five-month program runs from January to May 2027 in a hybrid format, combining activities in Espoo with online sessions. Participation is free of charge and no equity is taken.
Applications are open until 25 October 2026.
Learn more and apply to EriCa Reactor
EriCa Reactor is implemented by Crazy Town in partnership with Kemira.
EriCa Reactor opens global call for fiber-based renewable packaging solutions
Applications are now open for the second round of EriCa Reactor, helping sustainable deep tech scale from lab to market with industry.
Starting in January 2027, the second cohort focuses on enabling a circular future through fiber-based renewable packaging. We’re looking globally for startups, scaleups and university or industry spinoffs developing differentiated technologies and solutions at TRL 4+.
Kemira, a global leader in sustainable chemical solutions for water-intensive industries, continues as the lead industry partner, bringing R&D expertise, industry insight and pathways toward validation, testing and potential pilots.
Global demand for fiber-based packaging continues to grow. At the same time, climate impact, resource scarcity and the need to replace single-use plastics are increasing demand for more sustainable, recyclable and high-performing solutions.
We are looking for innovations in:
- Renewable packaging
- Advanced functionality and product properties
- Recyclability and product performance
- Process efficiency and enabling technologies
- Chemical solutions
- Digital and AI-driven solutions
- New business models
More than an accelerator: From validation to industrial scale
EriCa Reactor is designed for deep tech teams that are already beyond the idea stage and ready to validate, pilot and scale with industry.
Scaling deep tech from lab to industrial use requires more than promising technology. It requires customer understanding, validation, industry connections and access to environments where solutions can be tested and developed.
Selected teams receive five months of free EriCa membership, including access to coworking and project spaces and the EriCa Shared Labs at EriCa Green Chemistry Park in Espoo.
The program helps teams to:
- Validate technologies, applications and use cases with industry
- Understand customer and industry requirements
- Prepare and design pilots and industrial trials
- Use shared laboratory infrastructure for testing and development
- Connect with industry experts, R&D teams, customers and investors
- Build readiness for international growth and industrial scale-up
The EriCa Shared Labs are now operational, providing flexible laboratory infrastructure for startups, spinoffs and project teams working on sustainable deep tech.
“Deep tech companies need customers, industry expertise, validation and access to environments where they can test and scale their solutions. EriCa Reactor brings these elements together to help companies move from lab to market,” says Oona Sulkunen from Crazy Town, the operator of EriCa Green Chemistry Park.
Kemira brings industry insight, R&D expertise and scale
Startups bring agility and fresh ideas. Kemira brings scale, industry insight and R&D expertise. Together, solutions can reach markets faster.
Kemira is the lead industry partner for the first two EriCa Reactor cohorts, and its global innovation center is located onsite at EriCa Green Chemistry Park.
The collaboration gives participating teams access to industry expertise and supports the path toward validation, pilot preparation, industrial testing and potential further collaboration.
Building on the first cohort
The first EriCa Reactor cohort launched in March 2026 around clean water and brought together seven teams from five countries.
During the program, participating teams have already:
- Secured hundreds of thousands of euros in new funding
- Initiated new pilots and industrial testing
- Received support in designing pilots and preparing for scale-up
- Built new R&D and industry collaborations
- Connected with new investors, customers and international partners
Participation has also provided teams with external validation that can strengthen discussions with customers, investors and future partners.
The first cohort demonstrates what EriCa Reactor is designed to do: help promising deep tech move from validation toward pilots, funding and industrial scale.
Who should apply?
We are particularly looking for teams that:
- Offer differentiated, market-shaping solutions in fiber-based packaging and related materials
- Have scalable technologies with initial technical validation and a credible business model (TRL ≥ 4)
- See clear value in collaboration with a global industry partner
- Target international growth and market expansion
- Have a committed and capable team
- Have secured initial funding or other external support
Applications are open to startups and university or industry spinoffs worldwide.
Key dates
- Apply by October 25, 2026
- November 2026: Selection interviews and announcement of selected teams
- December 2026: Team onboarding
- January 11–13, 2027: Program kickoff onsite in Espoo, Finland
- January–May 2027: Workshops, coaching and mentoring; five months of free EriCa membership and access to shared laboratory and workspace infrastructure
- May–June 2027: Demo Day onsite in Espoo, Finland and program offboarding
For more information and to apply, click here.