Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) of innovative and sustainable solutions to treat Hospital and Healthcare System Wastewater – THERESA PCP

This PIN provides early information about the expected starting date and purchase volume for a pre-commercial procurement (PCP) carried out by the THERESA PCP project and about the open market consultation (OMC) that is organised in preparation of this pre-commercial procurement (PCP).
The THERESA Buyers Group of healthcare providers have identified a shared need for innovative and sustainable solutions to treat hospital wastewater (HWW) at the source, before it reaches the municipal network, to reduce environmental and health risks linked to pharmaceutical residues, antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms and genes, and other hazardous contaminants. The THERESA PCP aims to stimulate the development of environmentally sustainable, cost-effective, and scalable on-site HWW treatment systems capable of efficiently removing cytostatic drugs, X-ray contrast agents, antibiotics, antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) and genes (ARG), while minimising energy consumption, chemical use, and carbon footprint.
The contract notice is expected to be published in May-2026 and phase 1 to be started in January 2027, following the PCP timeline.
The procurement will take the form of a Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) awarding R&D service contracts to several providers in parallel, through a phased and competitive process comprising three stages: Solution design, prototyping, and original development and validation/testing of the first products in real hospital environments. After each phase, intermediate evaluations will down-select the best-performing and most innovative solutions. The contractors with the best-value-for-money solutions will be offered a specific contract for the next phase. The PCP is a joint cross-border initiative coordinated by Fundación Miguel Servet (Spain) as Lead Procurer, on behalf of a Buyers Group of hospitals and public health institutions from Spain, Estonia, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands, supported by technical and innovation partners.
Testing is expected to take place in Spain, Estonia, Poland and the Netherlands to ensure adaptability.
Price is not the only award criterion, and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents.
The selected contractors will retain ownership of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) generated during the PCP and will be able to commercially exploit the developed solutions beyond the scope of the procurement.
The R&D services will be carried out primarily within the European Union and/or countries associated with the Horizon Europe Programme.
At least 50% of the total value of R&D activities will take place within the EU or associated countries. In addition, contractors must ensure that none of the contracted services are performed in countries nor by entities that are subject to EU restrictive measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)23 (sanctions). They must ensure that none of the goods procured or used for the procurement were developed, produced or supplied in countries or by entities that are subject to such restrictive measures.
Duration of the contract in months: 30 months (January 27 to June 29). The duration covers all three PCP phases: Solution design, prototyping, and original development and validation/testing of the first products.
The PCP is expected to start after the publication of the Contract Notice and to end upon completion of the validation phase. This contract is not subject to renewal.