SMART WATER MANAGEMENT MARKET ANALYSIS

Key Developments

• In June 2023, SUEZ (a global leader in water, waste, and environmental management solutions, providing services to 64 million people and 90,000 industrial and municipal customers in 70 countries) joined forces with Northumbrian Water Ltd. (NWL) (one of the 10 regulated water and sewerage companies in England and Wales, serving 2.7 million customers in the North East and Essex) as one of the key partners in the groundbreaking Hydro Powered Concentric Smart Meter Project, the recipient of the Ofwat Innovation Fund's Catalyst Stream prize. The project aims to develop a novel smart water meter powered by a hydro-electric turbine, eliminating the need for external power sources and reducing the environmental impact of traditional battery-powered meters.
• In May 2023, Lummus Technology (a global provider of process technologies and value-driven energy solutions, focusing on a more sustainable, low-carbon future) announced its agreement with Siemens Energy (a global technology company specializing in energy transition and decarbonization, with a focus on wind power, hydrogen, and conventional power generation) to acquire assets from its water solutions portfolio, including intellectual property and trade secrets, copyrights, and research and development properties.
• In November 2022, Siemens (a global technology powerhouse focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and healthcare, with over 300,000 employees worldwide) became a sustaining partner for The Water Tower (a new water innovation center in Gwinnett County, Georgia that provides applied research, technology demonstration, training, and public outreach to solve regional and industry-wide water challenges). As part of this expanded partnership, Siemens will sponsor The Water Tower's Control Center, a state-of-the-art learning and demonstration platform that allows visitors to experience the physical and digital worlds of water and wastewater treatment side-by-side. The Control Center showcases how digitalization, data analytics, and emerging technologies can help water utilities operate more efficiently.
• In November 2022, the Government of Manitoba (the provincial government of Manitoba, Canada, responsible for governing the province and serving its 1.3 million residents) announced the launch of a comprehensive new Water Management Strategy to guide future decisions, actions, and investments aimed at safeguarding Manitoba's valuable water ecosystems and resources while sustainably developing the province's economy and communities. The strategy, the first of its kind in nearly 20 years, sets a clear vision, mission, guiding principles, and 11 key focus areas with 47 strategic objectives to conserve and protect the environment, enhance resiliency, improve water quality and availability, advance Indigenous inclusion, and foster economic opportunities related to water management. The strategy will be complemented by iterative Water Action Plans outlining specific initiatives to transform the framework into concrete actions.
• In October 2022, Landis+Gyr Pty Ltd., a subsidiary of Landis+Gyr Group AG (a leading global provider of integrated energy management solutions with a focus on smart metering, grid edge intelligence and smart infrastructure, employing over 6,500 people across five continents), partnered with Watercare, New Zealand's largest water utility serving 1.7 million customers in the Auckland region, to deploy 22,000 of Landis+Gyr's W350 ultrasonic smart water meters equipped with NB-IoT communications across Auckland. The partnership also includes the supply of some smart meters integrated with Landis+Gyr's Sotto network leak detection sensor, enabling Watercare to quickly identify and address leaks in its distribution network to reduce non-revenue water losses.
• In March 2022, the Government of Karnataka (the state government of Karnataka, India, responsible for governing the state and serving its 61 million residents) launched India's first digital water data bank, 'AQVERIUM', formed by AquaKraft Group Ventures (a water sustainability and impact group focused on creating 'water entrepreneurs' with the objective of making India 'Water Positive' by 2030). Karnataka's IT Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan stated that this innovative platform combines sustainable and green technologies, information technology, skill development, and entrepreneurship to address the state's water challenges. AQVERIUM aims to aggregate water resources under a single digital platform, enabling real-time monitoring, efficient water management, and incentivizing water conservation and recycling efforts across Karnataka.