TUBITAK Allocates 450 Million TL to Water Treatment R&D: 2026 Calls Announced

R&D Support Coming for the Turkish Water Treatment Sector

TUBITAK has announced a 450 million TL support package for the water and wastewater treatment field in 2026. The funds, to be distributed under the Industrial R&D Projects (1501), University-Industry Cooperation (1505) and Order-Based R&D (1707) programmes, aim to expand domestic technology development capacity in the sector.

Which Areas Are Prioritised?

According to the call text published by TUBITAK, 2026 focus areas are:

Domestic membrane production (UF, NF, RO)
AI-supported process optimisation
IoT-based remote monitoring systems
Recovery of valuable materials from industrial wastewater
Anaerobic treatment and biogas integration
Microplastic treatment technologies
PFAS removal technologies
Low-energy desalination systems

The call text highlights areas where the number of products at national capacity remains low. This shows TUBITAK's strategic priority map is moving in parallel with public priorities.

Support Rates

Support rates and ceilings differ across programmes:

75 percent of project cost for SMEs (cap of 4.5 million TL)
60 percent for large enterprises (cap of 8 million TL)
An additional 10 percent bonus in university-industry partnerships
An additional 5 percent premium where domestic equipment use exceeds 85 percent
Evaluation advantage for projects with strong environmental impact reports

Application Calendar

The first call opens on 15 July 2026 and closes on 30 September 2026. The second call period runs from 1 October 2026 to 15 December 2026. Pre-evaluation takes 6 weeks, with the total evaluation process averaging 4 months.

Lessons from Previous Years

Results of 87 treatment projects supported in 2024-2025 have been shared publicly. Notable examples include:

Setup of a domestic RO membrane production line (16 million TL)
Industrial deployment of an AI-based SCADA system (4.2 million TL)
Dye recovery system from textile wastewater (8 million TL)
Microplastic filtration prototype (2.8 million TL)
Anaerobic membrane bioreactor pilot plant (5.5 million TL)

In previous evaluation rounds, the most commonly cited reasons for failure were insufficient innovation level, weak project management capacity and a thin commercialisation plan.

Points to Watch in the Application Process

The shared emphasis from experienced applicants and TUBITAK experts is the following: commercial applicability of the project output is more critical than technical novelty. Early engagement with the university partner is decisive in terms of timing. Clearly defined key performance indicators (KPIs) noted in the call provide a clear advantage during evaluation.

What It Means for Turkey

This funding package is a significant tool for Turkey to reduce import dependence in water treatment technologies. Across the sector, opportunities to build domestic capacity are clear, particularly in membrane production, AI-based control systems and energy recovery technologies. University-industry collaborations are expected to accelerate in the coming period. Beyond TUBITAK funds, hybrid financing models combining KOSGEB, the Ministry of Industry and the EU Horizon Europe programmes are also drawing attention.