Standard content for Members only
To continue reading this article, please login to your Utility Week account, Start 14 day trial or Become a member.
If your organisation already has a corporate membership and you haven’t activated it simply follow the register link below. Check here.
Ten small to medium sized companies have been awarded grants to carry out feasibility studies on ideas to improve water security.
The projects will cost a total of £1 million, with nearly two thirds coming from the Technology Strategy Board and £80,000 from research councils NERC and EPSRC. The remainder comes from business investors.
To secure the funding, the SMEs had to show their idea had the potential to save or recycle 1,000 megalitres of water a day.
Iain Gray, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board, said: “In the UK we are surrounded by water so it’s easy to take the security of our supply for granted. It seems hard to envisage that we could, in the short space of 40 years, start running out of fresh water. It is also estimated that by 2050, the UK will have a shortage in water supply of up to 10,000 million litres a day.
“Innovative new technologies and services are needed if we are going to find a solution to this key issue. “
A low energy sensor network for farmers to slash the amount of water needed for irrigation and a water-saving method of washing leather are two of the ideas that attracted funding.
A further £2.5 million of funding is available for larger collaborative research and development projects, with the results due to be announced in August.
Related articles:
European Commission to prompt innovation in water technologies
Same old story
Utilities don’t need to innovate
Please login or Register to leave a comment.