Our work

The World Water Innovation Forum is bringing together water companies from across the globe, which aims to fund, develop and accelerate new technologies that will make a real difference to peoples’ lives. Each member has committed resources and investment to a central fund which will then be used to develop innovative techniques and to undertake trailblazing research. Members will each conduct a number of large-scale trials of new technologies, and will create a seed-fund that aims to accelerate water innovation across the world.

Here are some examples where new technologies could be explored, as part of the World Water Innovation Fund…

Robotics

The use of robotics in utility industries as an emerging and rapidly developing area. There is a huge opportunity to collaborate with leading researchers and manufacturers to develop robotic products that can be standardised for the water industry that could actively seek, locate and even repair leaks from inside the pipe. This would reduce disruption to customers affected by roadworks in the number of the incidents and also when pipes need to be repaired.

Using Optical Fibre

Optical fibres are finding widespread use in structural and geotechnical monitoring. Optical fibres can be installed along pipelines and can be used as distributed microphones, providing real time online detection of leaks and bursts. Fibre can also be used to detect pressure changes, temperature changes and even movements in pipes to proactively indicate potential issues.