The water system throughout England and Wales is fully depending on the streamlined use of know-how, with tens of hundreds of sensors already used to trace and flag blockages and flooding danger, and sophisticated information assortment mechanisms used to observe altering water high quality.
Moreover, information is already used to determine susceptible clients and ship tailor-made providers to people who want further help. However with giant ageing pipelines working within the context of accelerating demand and local weather change, the sector faces simple and pressing challenges that require motion now.
Water firms present consuming water and sewage providers to over 50 million households in England and Wales, with a sewage community that would wrap all over the world 13 instances. Up-to-date upkeep and preparation for the way forward for these networks requires daring pondering from innovators on the forefront of know-how growth. This implies specialists and engineers who’re conversant in, and adept at, flexibly utilizing information, sensible know-how and the web of issues to resolve and stop industry-wide issues.
Final month, Ofwat launched the Water Discovery Problem, a brand new £4m competitors for innovators exterior of the water sector with daring concepts that may assist clear up a few of its largest challenges. Ofwat is asking on innovators working in information, know-how and IoT to use their ingenuity and expertise to ship breakthrough options for use by the water sector.
The competitors is the newest from Ofwat’s £200 million Innovation Fund, which seeks to generate new concepts to sort out points together with managing leaks, stopping air pollution, bettering water effectivity, lowering emissions, boosting flood and drought resilience, prioritising sustainable practices, and supporting susceptible clients. We have to reply and adapt to local weather change, working in direction of clear widespread targets and ambitions.
How sensible know-how can revolutionise the water sector
Clever and adaptable water-tech may very well be game-changing for the sector – from improved water therapy know-how to flooding danger administration, in addition to higher supply of providers for all clients.
From implementing sensors to gather and transmit information from geographically disparate places throughout the nation, to distant supply administration information methods and water high quality monitoring, the chances are limitless. Sensible know-how may additionally rewrite the rulebook on leak administration and upkeep, particularly for inaccessible or distant places. Lastly, less complicated know-how – of the sort many people already use daily on our telephones – may assist enhance communications between clients and their water firms, and enhance ease of entry to paperwork comparable to payments.
Earlier competitions from Ofwat’s Innovation Fund have already seen quite a few profitable tech and data-related entries. This consists of superior applied sciences such because the Water High quality As-A-Service Therapy-2-Faucet venture, which is exploring how sensor know-how may determine poor high quality water, alerting firms forward of consumers and permitting them to sort out the problems inflicting the issue. By the tip of the venture, lead venture companion Northumbrian Water hope to be working Europe’s largest built-in community of water high quality and leakage administration sensors and analytics software program.
Equally, open-data system Stream, will enable higher insights into leaks, buyer wants and accountability, making it simpler to resolve advanced {industry} challenges. Stream will design and ship the ‘community of information pipes’ wanted to share helpful {industry} datasets in a safe, standardised and simple to entry method. This may allow water firms to collaboratively clear up robust sector challenges.
Different profitable tasks utilizing information embody Unlocking Digital Twins, which is creating digital copies of bodily datasets, that can be utilized in the identical method as the actual product and Assist for All, whichseeks to place in place a shared register of financially susceptible clients, working with the NHS, third sector, and different utility suppliers, to allow clients to contact one utility or service present to obtain help from all.
Tips on how to enter the Water Discovery Problem
As much as 20 groups of probably the most promising innovators can be awarded as much as £50,000 to develop their concepts, with skilled help and mentoring from water firms. As much as 10 will go on to win as much as £450,000 to show concepts into pilots.
To ship the competitors, Ofwat is working with innovation prize specialists, Problem Works, alongside international engineering, sustainability and water sector specialists, Arup, and Isle Utilities. Along with monetary incentives, profitable groups will profit from skilled mentoring and capacity-building help, together with entry to insights and mentoring from water firms and help for scaling options for the in depth water community in England and Wales.
The Water Discovery Problem closes on 5 April 2023. To seek out out extra and to enter, go to waterinnovation.challenges.org
Need to be taught in regards to the IoT from {industry} leaders? Take a look at IoT Tech Expo going down in Amsterdam, California, and London. The occasion is co-located with Digital Transformation Week.
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