Scottish Water funds new research and innovation initiative

Scottish Water is funding a new leadership post in research and innovation for water.

Working with the Scottish Funding Council, the water company has launched a £3.5m initiative to create a Scotland Hydro Nation Chair in Water. It has invited Scottish universities, either separately or in collaborative groups, to submit bids to host the project by 25 September. These will be assessed by a panel of experts in October.

The funding will be spread over six years, and the aim is to accelerate progress towards Scotland becoming a sustainable Hydro Nation. According to the bid document, this means transforming the way the water sector operates to make a positive contribution to Scotland’s climate change goal of attaining net zero carbon emissions by 2040.

Other areas of research will include ensuring that people across the whole of Scotland will continue to enjoy access to high quality drinking water; recycling of wastewater; and ways of enhancing the natural environment.