Metir (AIM:MET) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Portsmouth Aviation, the UK-based manufacturer behind the Paqua water purification brand.
The AIM-listed company, which supplies fast-response, mobile and point-of-use water and environmental monitoring technologies, said the deal is non-binding and establishes a framework to jointly evaluate combined water treatment and monitoring solutions rather than a signed commercial contract.
The collaboration pairs Portsmouth Aviation's PaquaVida platform, a mobile, containerised system producing up to 300,000 litres of potable water daily from non-potable sources, with Metir's Microtox rapid biological water-quality monitoring technology.
The two sides will also assess collaboration on PFAS and pathogen detection, with plans for joint customer engagement, demonstration projects and pilot installations across the UK and overseas.
Initial focus falls on the Gulf Cooperation Council region, where Metir already operates 27 Microtox Continuous Toxicity Monitors across Doha's drinking water network, while Portsmouth Aviation has an established presence in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Bob Moore, Metir's executive chairman and chief executive, said the tie-up gives "a unique offering" spanning treatment through to continuous biological monitoring, pointing to sustained regional investment in desalination and water reuse as the commercial opening.
Simon Escott, chief executive of Portsmouth Aviation's Paqua division, said the two companies' technologies are "highly complementary" and that the parties will now evaluate how to develop opportunities across existing and emerging markets.
No financial terms, milestone payments or exclusivity provisions were disclosed.
