Why we do this

Water is our shared foundation of life.

A lake is a habitat. A river connects landscapes. A wetland retains water. Together they are part of the cycles that make our lives possible.

Our drinking water, our food, our health and our economy depend on functioning water cycles. For us, this holds a key to the long-term survival of humanity: we must understand and preserve the systems that sustain us.

That is why e.Ray exists. We develop technologies that make water bodies more understandable and support people in dealing with them responsibly.

A river winds through a green landscape – water connects habitats.
A water body is always part of a greater whole.Photo: Ümit Yıldırım / Unsplash
Water and climate

Anyone who thinks about water
must also think about climate.

Water bodies respond to climate change. At the same time, they themselves act on the climate. It is precisely this connection that motivates us to take a closer look.

Water cycle

Water moves life.

Precipitation, soils, groundwater, rivers and lakes are interconnected. Wetlands can retain water and release it with a delay. Protecting them helps to make landscapes more resilient.

Carbon cycle

Water bodies shape the climate.

In water bodies, carbon is transported, transformed and stored. At the same time, greenhouse gases such as CO₂ and methane can be released. Their climate impact depends on the local conditions.

Our perspective

Understanding the connections.

We view the water-carbon cycle as one interconnected system. Our goal: to identify where water bodies are falling out of balance and which measures make sense ecologically and for the climate.

Scientific background: UNEP · Water and ecosystems / Johnson et al. · Methane emissions from lakes

Starting on site

Act here.
Make an impact further afield.

Water knows no municipal boundaries. What happens at one inflow can change an entire lake. What is retained upstream can bring relief downstream.

That is why our work begins at the specific water body – and keeps the entire catchment in view. When local knowledge is shared and good solutions are transferred, impact grows across the region.

  1. 01

    At the water body

    Detect changes earlier. Understand causes better. Prepare measures in a more targeted way.

  2. 02

    In the region

    Consider inflows, water retention and water use as a whole. Support decisions across boundaries of responsibility.

  3. 03

    Across borders

    Make experience and data usable. Learn together what works – and under which conditions.

How we work

Conviction becomes
water intelligence.

We combine measurements, data and expertise so that a better understanding leads to better decisions.

With WAMO, we make developments visible directly in the water body. We bring together measurement data and further sources of information and, building on this, continue to develop our water intelligence.

As a data and evaluation partner, we work with municipalities, public authorities, the research community and those responsible for water bodies. Their knowledge on site is just as important as our technology.

Our vision is an open community that shares knowledge about water bodies and learns together. Because only together can we keep them in balance over the long term.

In-house engineering

From idea to prototype

Electronics, mechanics, analytics and software are built in-house – short distances between an idea, the workbench and the first test run.

Proving ground

Into the water before delivery

New ideas prove themselves in real waters before they ship. What survives a winter in the lake holds up elsewhere, too.

Origins

Space technology meets limnology

The satellite side comes from the ESA incubator in Darmstadt, the questions come from limnology. Bringing both together is our approach.

Manufacturing

We build our stations ourselves.

Hull, deck, power supply and sensors are built in our own workshop in Darmstadt – from prototype to small production run. That keeps the lines short: whoever builds a station also looks after it later out on the water.

Assembled WAMO decks in the workshop hall
Team during assembly in the workshop
Vision, mission, values

What drives us. How we act.

We combine scientific rigour with responsibility, collaboration and humanity.

Our vision

Waters in balance.

For healthy people, resilient regions and a future worth living in.

Our mission

Understand waters better.

e.Ray combines its own measurements with satellite data, existing public datasets and limnological expert reports to form a shared picture of a water body. This produces water intelligence that enables municipalities, public authorities and operators to detect risks early, decide on a sound basis and keep waters in balance over the long term.

01

Water in balance

Healthy water bodies are the foundation of all life. That is why we develop solutions which protect nature and give people long-term security.

02

Scientific integrity

We work in a data-based, transparent and traceable way. We communicate findings, uncertainties and limitations openly.

03

Impact with responsibility

Technology is not an end in itself for us. What matters is that it delivers measurable ecological and social improvements.

04

Collaboration as equals

Lasting change is created together. We meet municipalities, researchers, companies, associations and people on site as partners.

05

Humanity and diversity

Different perspectives, experiences and cultures make us stronger. We create an environment shaped by respect, trust and mutual support.

06

The courage to change things

We think ahead, question established solutions and put new ideas into practice – pragmatically, willing to learn and with persistence.

Timeline

Over ten years of e.Ray.

The most important turning points from energy startup to water-intelligence company.

  1. 2025

    21 WAMOs for Mecklenburg

    Full rollout of the Smart City model project “meer.zukunft.seen” across two districts; start of the ESA demonstration project SWIM, which brings satellite data and WAMO measurements together.

  2. 2024

    Crowdfunding & Tollensesee

    Successful digital funding round, first WAMO station “Augustus” on Tollensesee, RoSyRe project in Hesse; joined the Horizon Europe consortium SWIM Extensions (EUSPA) as a partner.

  3. 2023

    s::can partnership & SWIM

    Industry partnership with Badger Meter / s::can; launch of the satellite-based platform SWIM.

  4. 2022

    Schlaues Wasser Darmstadt

    Hometown pilot – continuous monitoring in the urban water system as a blueprint for municipalities.

  5. 2021

    Galileo Masters global and Hesse winner

    Global overall winner and Hesse winner at the Galileo Masters Awards.

  6. 2019

    International market entry

    MYRAY deliveries to Uganda, World Water Day initiatives, political visits in Darmstadt.

  7. 2018

    ESA Prime Contractor

    Contract for the climate service “Rain-Belt-River-Nexus” – the first commercial bridge between satellites and rivers.

  8. 2017

    EMOR – Pivot to Water

    In the project “Energy and Management of Rivers” the concept of a floating measurement platform emerged.

  9. 2016

    Microgrids & MYRAY

    First mobile solar systems in operation – the hardware DNA that later flowed into WAMO.

  10. 2015

    Climate-KIC & ESA BIC

    Joined the European climate-innovation network and the ESA Business Incubator Darmstadt.

From microgrid startup to water intelligence.

e.Ray was founded in Darmstadt in 2015 with a simple question: how can sustainable energy systems be operated where the power grid is thin? The first funding step came from Climate-KIC; shortly after, we joined the ESA Business Incubator Darmstadt. In those years we built solar microgrids, mobile power plants and the portable MYRAY system.

2017 brought the decisive turning point: in the research project EMOR – Energy and Management of Rivers we recognised that the bigger problem was not energy, but the data gap on the state of our waters. From an energy startup we became a water-monitoring company. In 2018 we became ESA Prime Contractor for the climate service Rain-Belt-River-Nexus – the first commercial bridge between satellites and rivers.

In 2021 we won the Hesse prize and the global overall award at the Galileo Masters Awards. Then came the local pilot “Schlaues Wasser Darmstadt”, the industry partnership with s::can / Badger Meter and the launch of our satellite-based platform SWIM.

Today WAMO stations are running in Hesse and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The Smart City model project “meer.zukunft.seen” put 21 more stations into operation. The idea from 2015 has remained – the technology and the answer have evolved: water is the task, data is the method, continuity is the lever. And out of that monitoring experience grows the next step: not only understanding water bodies, but actively supporting them where needed.

Faces

The minds behind
WAMO & SWIM.

The e.Ray team in the workshop, a group photo among WAMO stations under construction
C-Level
Sebastian Lemke
Sebastian LemkeCEO
Fabian Suárez
Fabian SuárezCOO
Team
Ashutosh Bhalerao
Ashutosh BhaleraoProject Manager
Mirac Memisoglu
Mirac MemisogluFull-Stack
Molka Ben Salem
Molka Ben SalemProject Engineer
Iris Garbers
Iris GarbersSales & PM
Ruchi Manjalkar
Ruchi ManjalkarData Science
Daniela Romero
Daniela RomeroLatin America
Freelancers & Working Students
Simon Schubert
Simon SchubertIndustrial Design · Freelance
Sven Wielandt
Sven WielandtCommunication · Freelance
Annika Maul
Annika MaulGNSS · Working Student
Solomon Titze
Solomon TitzeEnvironment · Working Student
This is what drives us.

Understand waters better.
Waters in balance.

For the people who depend on them today. And for everyone who comes after us.