Evides Industriewater UK has today launched a new whitepaper explaining why water 
supply is a critical issue for companies developing net-zero technologies in the UK’s 
developing clean-growth hubs.

Titled Will water supply make or break the UK’s clean growth hubs?, the paper explains 
how the water landscape in the UK has changed, with industry no longer able to turn on the 
tap from the local water company and receive a limitless supply of easy-to-treat water.
 New industrial clusters will need to find new water sources, more complex to treat, to 
ensure that enough water can be found for water-hungry processes such as carbon capture 
and hydrogen production.  In tandem, companies must meet exacting standards for water discharge, as changing legislation demands closer monitoring of potential pollution being released into the local 
environment.

To top it all, the Environment Agency will not look kindly on several companies all proposing 
to discharge into the same river basin with scant regard for what neighbouring companies 
are doing. The risk to individual companies is that their water permits will be rejected, as 
other companies have got there first. The solution, the paper argues, is to have centralised water and wastewater treatment infrastructure, operated by a specialist company able to supply and treat water for the entire clean growth hub.

With one plan submitted to the Environment Agency and one network of pipes, the 
specialist firm can manage the risk and guarantee supply to all users, sizing the plant to 
minimise environmental impact while meeting the growth ambitions of the cluster.

What’s more, new site users can simply  connect to the water system rather than wait the 12 months plus applying for water  permits and carrying out the necessary 
environmental tests. 

Colin Robinson, UK Business Development Manager at Evides Industriewater, says: “Very often, the companies developing the new green technologies of tomorrow are  simply unaware of the headaches involved in obtaining and treating water as they lack the necessary in-house technical expertise in this area. They risk having a nasty surprise, often leading to long delays in projects getting off the ground.  “The whitepaper explains the potential  pitfalls in store and points the way to a rational solution, one which benefits both  the landlords of clean-growth hubs and the  individual companies within the hub.