Veolia has opened a new Hubgrade centre in Granollers, Catalonia, focusing on urban resilience and efficient resource management. The facility aims to help the region adapt to climate change, positioning itself as a key player in water management outside the Barcelona metropolitan area.
The inauguration brought together local authorities and business representatives, including Sílvia Paneque, Catalonia's Minister for Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition; Alba Barnusell, Mayor of Granollers; and Daniel Tugues, Veolia's Country Director for Spain. The centre will generate knowledge, anticipate scenarios, and support medium to long-term decision-making, according to Veolia officials.
Through advanced data analysis, modelling, and predictive systems, the Hubgrade can identify risks before they happen. These include floods, droughts, leaks in drinking water networks, or infrastructure anomalies. It will also help define adaptation strategies to strengthen regional resilience. The centre aims to shift administrations from reactive to predictive management, directly affecting sustainability, water security, business competitiveness, and quality of life for residents.
Boosting Water Security and Efficiency
Daniel Tugues stated during the event that in sectors like water, energy, and waste, simply operating well is no longer enough. He explained, "It is necessary to be able to anticipate, optimise, detect incidents more quickly, reduce consumption, refine processes, and make decisions with more information and greater precision. In Catalonia, this also means strengthening environmental security and guaranteeing the management of fundamental resources to meet the essential needs of citizens, particularly during periods of drought. And this is exactly what an innovation centre of excellence like this allows us to do."
Minister Sílvia Paneque highlighted the importance of high-performance technology in water management. She said, "The high-performance technology, which we formally put into operation today, designed to integrate data, monitor systems in real-time, and support decision-making in an increasingly complex and demanding hydrological context, is, I insist, an indispensable part of the collective water project. Water management is one of the great strategic challenges for our country's future." She added that addressing this challenge requires investment, technological innovation, public planning, and a long-term perspective, alongside public-private collaboration to use the strengths of both sectors for the common good.
Mayor Alba Barnusell emphasised the link between ecological and digital transitions. She noted, "This Hubgrade symbolises a key idea: the ecological transition is also a digital transition, and it must always be at the service of the common good and people. The location of this centre in Granollers is a recognition of a city with industrial tradition, innovation capacity, and a firm commitment to sustainability."
Inclusive Services and Global Network
The new centre also houses Granollers' municipal water service office, designed to be inclusive and accessible. Built with universal accessibility criteria, the office provides a comfortable and functional environment for people with reduced mobility and other functional diversities. It includes technological solutions such as the Navilens system, which helps with orientation and autonomous access to information, particularly for visually impaired individuals. This approach shows Veolia's and the municipality's commitment to a more inclusive, equitable, and people-centred service model.
The Hubgrade aims for a deep transformation of water management using advanced technologies that optimise all phases of the integrated water cycle. Artificial intelligence algorithms and predictive analysis tools, trained with decades of operational experience from over 40 countries, allow for an anticipatory, integrated, and data-driven management system. This ensures a more resilient, sustainable, and transparent service.
This Granollers centre is part of a global network of 17 hubs specialising in water, energy, and waste management. Being part of this network helps with knowledge exchange and the scaling of operational improvements and new solutions, tailored to the specific needs of each region. This integration helps Granollers become a leading municipality in intelligent and sustainable water management.
Co-creation and Future Projects
The centre's unique ability lies in its role as a reference for all of Catalonia. It digitally manages municipalities across the territory, combining a centralised strategic vision with deep knowledge of each local environment. The operational strategy uses territorial operation hubs, like the one in Granollers, to ensure a quality, uninterrupted, efficient, and sustainable water supply. It combines advanced digital services with human intelligence, backed by nearly 160 years of experience.
This combination of human expertise and digital capabilities ensures operational excellence. Specialised operational managers centralise the reception and assignment of field tasks, optimising resource use and standardising response protocols. This allows for more versatile and better-coordinated teams, anticipates interventions, improves reaction capacity, increases productivity, and optimises travel, ensuring service continuity. It also adds value through transparency, real-time data, and better consumption information. Crucially, it democratises access to technology, allowing all municipalities, regardless of size, to access the same level of operational intelligence.
The new Hubgrade also acts as a co-creation environment through Espai INNOVA. This space connects administrations, universities, research centres, and companies to develop responses to challenges such as drought, floods, and pressure on water resources. The goal is to anticipate and prepare the region for the impacts of climate change. Veolia is working on research projects with Granollers City Council, supported by Cetaqua as a reference technology centre in water, and with Catalan universities, research organisations, and local entities. The Hubgrade aims to significantly expand this network, incorporating local and regional companies and entities to build an innovation ecosystem rooted in the territory. A new Innovation Plan is underway in Granollers, including European projects like Knowing and UP2030, developed with the City Council to analyse flood risk.
