Government floods water industry with R&D funding

Seven major collaborative research and development projects will receive the money funded jointly by the Technology Strategy Board, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The projects will address overseas and UK water security challenges by creating a new technology or process that will either save or recycle 1 billion litres of water per day – equivalent to roughly the same volume of water it would take to fill 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The total cost of the projects, including contributions from the participating companies, is in excess of £5.6m.

Chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board, Iain Gray, said: “The sustainable and secure supply of water is a major challenge for modern societies. This presents innovation opportunities in water for UK businesses, particularly in the export market and for companies in the supply chain.

“The research and development we are funding will help UK companies improve their access to global water markets.”

The collaborative projects will be led by Arvia Technology Ltd, Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions, Cambrensis Ltd, Halcrow Group Ltd, KEE Process Ltd, Quest UAV and Watershed Associates Ltd.

Leigh Stringer