Hydro Powered Concentric Smart Meter

Competition: Breakthrough 3: Catalyst

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

Project completed: August 2025

Water cycle tag: Water Network

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

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Update from the project (July 2025)

The Hydro Smart Meter Project is due to complete on 28th August 2025. The final closeout report has been drafted for submission towards the end of July. Physical Beta Prototypes of the Smart Meter will be available from August 2025.