Amount awarded: £874,954
Led by: Northumbrian Water
Partners: SUEZ Advanced Solutions UK, HYDRAO (Smart and Blue), Octo Design Ltd, PDL Solutions (Europe) Limited, Synthotech Limited, The Manufacturing Technology Centre Ltd, Southern Water Limited, South East Water Limited, Anglian Water Services Limited, Portsmouth Water Ltd, CRNS
Climate change is driving the need to conserve water as a key resource. Current concentric water meters can only provide very basic and occasional information as they are constrained by the limits of battery power. This project seeks to overcome this by using the flow of water to provide limitless power to the meter. This enables live, rich, data to be provided to the consumer and to utilities, enabling action to reduce consumption and prevent leaks. In addition to saving water, further sustainability benefits will arise from longer meter lifespans, reduced maintenance, and the elimination of environmentally harmful batteries.
“Having hatched the idea at Northumbrian Water’s Innovation Festival in 2021, this funding provides a fantastic opportunity to develop a prototype of the world’s first concentric hydro powered smart meter, enabling the use of granular data to reduce customer PCC and removing the need for environmentally damaging batteries.” – Gary Adams, Head of Smart Programme, Northumbrian Water Limited
We have moved from the Discovery phase into the Alpha prototype phase. We evaluated all 4 of the concepts within the Discovery phase, and we held an in person workshop in which we have evaluated and rationalized the 4 concepts, reducing these to 2 concepts to move forward with within the Alpha prototype phase.
For more information on Hydro-powered concentric smart meter, take a look at the following resources:
Existing concentric smart meter, and hydro powered turbine design
