Latest innovation festival is top draw

Northumbrian Water’s 2023 Innovation Festival drew more than 2,500 people from over 700 global organisations over its four days last week to make the largest yet according to the organisers.

Industry professionals were joined by engineers, local businesses, students, designers and members of the public on 26 high-speed workshops – “sprints” – and other projects to produce ideas and solutions to make the festival the largest one yet. Northumbrian said.

Northumbrian said participants at its seventh annual innovation event “researched, developed and worked their way through the equivalent of 38 years’ worth of work to come up with new ideas and solutions to challenges faced by the water sector.”

The event – held at Newcastle Racecourse – was focused on a series of challenges which explored key topics spanning; the quality of public housing; household budgets; employment; zero carbon construction; delivering AMP 8; understanding District Metered Areas; reducing the water industry’s energy costs and robot network maintenance.