Development of a Marine Autonomous Remote Sampler (MARS)

Delivering real-time assessments of the South West’s bathing water quality

Bacterisk+ system developed by Molendotech

Title: Development of a Marine Autonomous Remote Sampler (MARS)

Funded by: Innovate UK

Competition name: Launchpad: marine and maritime in the Great South West – R1 CR&D

Project period: May 2024 – November 2025

Project partners: MolEndoTech (lead), University of Plymouth

University of Plymouth staff: Dr Keiron Fraser , Mr Aaron Barrett

Ensuring safe and clean bathing waters is essential for public health and environmental protection. However, traditional culture-based testing methods face significant challenges, including delayed results, infrequent sampling, and logistical limitations. With 149 designated bathing water sites across Devon and Cornwall alone, water quality testing is a major task.

Currently, testing occurs just once a week, providing limited insight into pollution levels, particularly after heavy rainfall when combined sewage overflows (CSOs) may discharge untreated wastewater into coastal waters. Given the episodic nature of CSO events, traditional testing methods fail to provide timely and accurate assessments of whether waters are safe for swimming.

The project, utilising the expertise at MolEndoTech in microbiology and assay development alongside the autonomy expertise at the University of Plymouth, will develop a Marine Autonomous Remote Sampler (MARS) that offers near real-time water quality assessment through an autonomous water sampling and testing device.

The MARS system will autonomously collect water samples and analyse them using Bacterisk technology – delivering results in just 30 minutes.

The system will:

Autonomously collect and analyse water samples every 15 minutes, or as required, significantly improving data resolution.
Transmit real-time water quality data to a shore station via Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).
Reduce carbon emissions by eliminating the need for manual, vessel-based sampling.
Improve public safety by providing timely alerts on water quality at bathing sites.

We are very pleased and excited to secure this funding. It will enable us to complete the development of an automated version of our water testing technology. This will allow a step change in water quality monitoring and is something the water industry and stakeholders need.

Having real-time, frequent assessment of bathing water quality from different locations will allow the development of meaningful water quality maps that users and regulators can use to inform decision-making and guide practices. It will be great to be working with collaborators at the University of Plymouth to develop this innovative device.

Professor Simon Jackson
Chief Scientific Officer at MolEndoTech

Bathing water quality is increasingly of major interest to the public and a hot political topic, in part due to the increased interest in year-round sea swimming. Historically, rapidly measuring sewage contamination of seawater has not been possible and typically took 24–48 hours, greatly devaluing the results, as conditions can rapidly change with tides and rainfall. Over recent years, MolEndoTech, a University of Plymouth spin-off company, has developed an innovative product, Backterisk, that allows key bacterial indicators of sewage contamination to be measured in 15 minutes – a huge improvement on previous technology.

The Innovate UK funding received for the MARS project will allow the University of Plymouth to work with MolEndoTech to take their technology and create a remote, fully autonomous system to collect water samples, measure seawater sewage contamination and transfer the results to a desktop app in near real-time. The MARS project will help transform the way we monitor sewage contamination of bathing water and is a great example of how universities can work with companies to help drive innovation.

Dr Keiron Fraser
Associate Professor (Education) in Marine Conservation

How does Bacterisk work?

The patented endotoxin detection technology has the potential to transform the way we assess and respond to bacterial contamination. Unlike traditional culture-based methods, the technology makes testing safer, faster and more flexible. There’s no waiting for lab results, no need to grow potentially harmful pathogens and no complicated kit to set up.