LIMONA · New Water Softener System for vending machines, minimizing hardness without altering natural water pH nor minerals

Water supply is generally defined as “hard”, as it presents a high mineral content, mostly Calcium and Magnesium, leached in the water from minerals in the aquifers. Although proper for human consumption, hard water is inadequate for use in equipment handling water due to its tendency to form limescale. This is particularly relevant for the vending machines, where hard water is responsible for up to 70% of equipment failure. Water softeners, devices installed for the treatment and conversion of hard water into soft water, are therefore required, not only to prevent limescale build-up and corrosion, but also to ensure a premium quality of water when it is used in cold and hot beverages. The traditional softening methods used for removing water hardness, i.e. ion-exchange and reverse osmosis, present however severe limitations: they are costly, use toxic chemicals, generate significant water waste and alter water pH and mineralization. For the 3.8 million vending machines present in Europe, this translates into 3million m3 of water lost and 8,000 tonnes of GHG emitted yearly! To address this problem, our company W.F., expert in water treatment, is offering LIMONA, a new disruptive technology for vending machine able to remove and avoid scale formation while keeping water natural characteristics and pH for an optimum water taste. LIMONA does this in a cost-effective (-45%), eco-friendly (-90% footprint, 0 water waste, 0 chemicals), compact (500g) and durable (up to 3 years of operational lifetime) manner. Expected to be launched in 2021 in the lucrative 65 billion€ global vending market (where Europe represents 23%), LIMONA will allow our company to grow sustainably, capturing accumulated profits worth 5.9 M€, a ROI ≥ 1.8 and creating +7 new jobs all within 5 years.