Like many other countries, the United Kingdom faces major and pressing water issues arising from population growth, aging infrastructure, and climate change.
Last year, the British water industry proposed investing GBP 96 billion over the period of 2025 – 2030 in water and sewage infrastructure. Knowing that water technology innovations and circular water management solutions are good means to tackle these challenges, the Netherlands has designed a public-private partnership programme to share know-how with the British water sector and respond to market needs.
Cross-county water technology collaboration
The Netherlands aims to enhance cross-country collaborations and partnerships between water alliances worldwide to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 6 – water and sanitation for all. Following this ambition, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Kingdom (UK) has water high on its agenda and wants to strengthen the long-standing relationship between the Netherlands and the UK to pave the way for a more sustainable and water secure future.
The Dutch Embassy, Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and Water Alliance have been working together under the public-private partnership programme UK Water Technology to bring Dutch and British water technology sectors closer since October 2023. Last week, this programme was officially signed by the Head of the Economic Department of the Embassy, Dimitri Vogelaar, and the Director of Water Alliance, Hein Molenkamp at the British Water International Reception – a very fitting venue as the reception was a good platform to connect with representatives from the UK water industry.
Based on mutual growth, exchanging ideas and sustainable practices, the programme aims to enable moving towards efficient and innovative water technology.
World Water-Tech Innovation Summit 2024
The UK Water Technology partnership programme includes various activities such as knowledge exchange, missions, trade fairs and matchmaking. One of the most recent activities organised by the partnership was a business mission to the World Water-Tech Innovation Summit 2024, held last week in London. The mission had two main purposes: one, getting to know the British market better and, two, bringing Dutch companies into contact with British parties interested in business partners.
Representatives from the Dutch companies CirTec BV, FibreSecurity, Hydraloop, LG Sonic, NX Filtration, Royal HaskoningDHV, Samotics and Technimex International BV were present at the exhibition area with a joint booth and participated in the conference and company visits.
Programme’s upcoming activities
Amongst other activities planned for 2024 there is a matchmaking mission later in the year with the ambition to put British companies with concrete needs in contact with potential Dutch partners. Moreover, a British delegation will attend the European Water Technology Week which will be held in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, from 23 to 26 September.
The activities to be run under the framework of this partnership will vary over the course of the years according to the needs of the British market.
More information on the programme and its activities can be found on the TradewithNL website.
