One challenge in the water sector often goes unnoticed until you can smell it: odour and air emissions from wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities. Eindhoven-based Luper Technologies is tackling this problem with an innovative technology that effectively removes unpleasant odours and harmful gases from the air.
At the heart of the innovation is the AirShield, an industrial air purification system that uses electricity and a patented oxidation process inspired by nature’s self-cleaning mechanisms. Processes that would normally take weeks or even months outdoors are completed in just a matter of seconds inside the AirShield.
Where conventional filtration systems often struggle with peak loads – for example when sulphur compounds such as hydrogen sulphide (H₂S), a gas with the characteristic smell of rotten eggs, are suddenly released – the AirShield automatically adjusts its performance. Sensors continuously monitor air quality, allowing the system to respond immediately to changing conditions. Pilot projects at Dutch regional water authorities demonstrated odour removal rates of more than 99 per cent.
“At wastewater treatment plants, the air can smell strongly of rotten eggs or decaying cabbage,” says CEO Maarten Kieft. “Those odours create problems for both water authorities and people living nearby.”
Luper Technologies is now working to scale up the technology. Its initial focus is on wastewater treatment plants and facilities operated by regional water authorities, but interest is also growing in other industrial sectors. At a time when emission standards are becoming stricter and communities are paying closer attention to environmental impacts, the technology offers both ecological and economic benefits.
Luper Technologies is one of the seven finalists in the WIS Award 2026, Water Alliance’s innovation award for Dutch water technology companies. The final will take place on 26 October during the European Water Technology Week (EWTW) in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. The other finalists are CIWI, Deep, Flowless, Solaq, Spectromarine and Versa Solution.