County Durham-based environmental innovator awarded a share of £40m innovation prize

County Durham-based environmental gel innovator Intelligent Gels in partnership with Durham University, Northumbrian Water and technology innovation catalyst CPI is one of 16 initiatives being awarded a share of £40m in Ofwat’s latest innovation competition – the Water Breakthrough Challenge.

Now in its third year, the Water Breakthrough Challenge awards funding to solutions with potential to deliver wide-scale, transformational change benefitting customers, society and the environment.

The innovative Root Defender project aims to end sewer misery by preventing tree root intrusion into pipelines. Tree roots, which work their way into sewer pipes, block thousands of pipes every year which causes flooding and pollution and costs tens of thousands of pounds to repair.

Leading the project, alongside Northumbrian Water, is Intelligent Gels who are creating a new eco-friendly product that can be applied to the inside of existing sewer pipes, and coated on new pipes laid in the future, to stop tree roots growing any further without damaging roots and killing the tree.

Based at Orbit, Durham University’s Enterprise Zone at NETPark, Intelligent Gels has worked with Durham University, Northumbrian Water and CPI to examine the effects on plant and tree root growth. This new funding will allow further product development and industrial scale testing before commercialisation.

Matt Wilson, managing director of Intelligent Gels said: “We have scientifically proven that we can repel tree roots from pipelines, with nature-based materials and most importantly it won’t affect tree growth. This innovation will allow us to test new ways of conducting the core activities of the future plus aid long term resilience of the network.”

Andrew Moore, research coordinator at Northumbrian Water, said: “Tree roots increase the risk of flooding to our customers by causing blockages in the sewer pipes and cost us thousands of pounds every year to repair. We’re delighted with this investment in innovation which will allow us to progress this fantastic partnership project, helping to both protect our environment and benefit our customers.”

Professor Keith Lindsey from the Department of Biosciences at Durham University and academic lead for the project, said: “Our researchers have been working with Intelligent Gels on this project for several years and it’s fantastic to get this level of support to take the project forward. This has the potential to be a game-changing solution to a multi-million-pound problem for the water industry and will be of huge benefit to the general public.”

David Black, CEO at Ofwat said: “The water sector has faced mounting pressure over systemic challenges related to the environment and society, while the climate around us continues to drastically change shape. That’s why we’re funding ground-breaking innovations with potential to help us save and reuse water and wastewater products, while supporting wider society.”

The Water Breakthrough Challenge is part of a series of competitions from Ofwat, run by Challenge Works with Arup and Isle Utilities, designed to drive innovation and collaboration in the sector to benefit individuals, society and the environment.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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