Water industry printfrastructure (WIP)
Amount awarded: £1,543,610
Led by: United Utilities
Partners: ChangeMaker3D, Manchester Metropolitan University (PrintCity), Scottish Water
As technology for concrete and polymer printing has developed, so too have the opportunities for adoption within the water industry, particularly with regard to bespoke infrastructure designs. Our partnership takes experience from current working practices in the rail industry and learnings from academia, and converts these to actionable, operational demonstrations for the industry. With the ever increasing requirement to provide more detailed, unique and often resource intensive solutions, we believe we have a toolbox of options that will help the water industry and its customers plan and realise a more sustainable future for the implementation and maintenance of infrastructure assets.
“The water industry requires unprecedented levels of construction to deliver environmental improvements and maintain existing aging assets. We must address these challenges sustainably, efficiently and at lowest cost for our customers. Our WIP project will move 3D printing from good idea into a valuable tool for our business.” – Lisa Mansell, Chief Engineer (Innovation), United Utilities
—
The WIP project is on schedule with the agreed plan. In the past quarter we have been testing printed assets in operational environments and drafting the outcomes of our carbon assessments and commercialisation studies. Reports are currently being reviewed and will be finalised in the first quarter of 2025. We have also been sharing the findings of our project across multiple industries through different platforms. For example, we presented at the European Wastewater Management Conference in Manchester attended by representatives from organisations across the water industry. More recently, In November 2024 88 people joined us for our online Spring Showcase. The session was very well received and attracted positive feedback. Once available we will share the video of the event across the water industry.
—
For more information on Water Industry Printfrastructure, take a look at the following resources:
