EIT Water Hackathon pilot – Circular & climate-resilient blue economy
EIT Water logo Co-funded by the European Union logo Grundfos Foundation logo

EIT Water – Co-funded by the European Union. Supported by the Poul Due Jensen / Grundfos Foundation (PDJF).

Hackathon Pilot 2026

EIT Water Hackathon Munich 2026

Circular & Climate-Resilient Blue Economy for Central and Alpine Europe

  • Protect and restore marine & freshwater ecosystems
  • Improve water efficiency, recycling & circularity
  • Strengthen resilience to climate-related risks and external threats
Sign up for the hackathon 1-day, high-energy format • Min. 6 teams • Cross-sector collaboration

About the hackathon

The EIT Water & Poul Due Jensen / Grundfos Foundation (PDJF) Hackathon in Munich brings together innovators from across Central and Alpine Europe to co-develop early-stage solutions for urgent Water, Marine and Maritime (WMM) challenges.

In one intense day, mixed teams of entrepreneurs, researchers, utilities, corporates, ports, NGOs and public authorities will turn concrete challenges into Proofs of Concept (PoCs) with real potential for further development, validation and business creation.

DEEP Ecosystems convenes the regional ecosystem and facilitates the format, while EIT Water and the Grundfos Foundation back the pilot as part of building Europe’s next water innovation community.

Format 1-day, in-person hackathon in Munich with guided challenge framing, mentoring and rapid prototyping.
Participants At least 30 participants across a minimum of 6 cross-disciplinary teams.
Outcome Early-stage PoCs and validated concepts aligned with EIT Water’s strategic objectives.
Next steps Entry point into the emerging EIT Water ecosystem and future calls planned for 2027.

Who should join?

  • Startups & scale-ups in water, climate, circular economy or maritime innovation
  • Students, researchers & innovators from universities and research organisations
  • Water utilities, infrastructure operators and technology providers
  • Ports, municipalities and public authorities tackling water resilience
  • Industry partners with water-intensive operations seeking new solutions
  • NGOs and ecosystem builders working on blue economy and nature-based solutions

What you will gain

Co-create impactful PoCs

Develop concrete early-stage solutions with support from mentors and domain experts, ready for further testing and partnerships.

Join the EIT Water network

Connect to a pan-European community of partners preparing for future EIT Water programmes and 2027 calls.

Visibility & follow-up

Showcase outcomes in an impact report for EIT Water and the Grundfos Foundation, opening doors to pilots and funding.

Key facts

Location Munich, Germany – focus on Central & Alpine Europe.
Date 2026 (exact date to be confirmed – details shared with registered participants).
Focus areas Ecosystem restoration, water efficiency & circularity, climate resilience for water systems.
Eligibility Open to participants from across Europe, with a focus on Central and Alpine regions. Working language: English.

Are you a challenge owner?

We are looking for utilities, cities, ports, corporates and public authorities to bring real market challenges to the hackathon as challenge owners.

If you want to host a challenge, please email [email protected] with a short description of your organisation and the water or blue economy challenge you would like to address. We will schedule a call to explore fit and next steps.