Non-revenue water (NRW) is a major problem for water utilities. According to the International Water Association, 126 billion m3 of water is lost each year worldwide. Of this, 32 billion m3 of treated water is lost each year, through leakage from water pipes. Conservatively valued at €0.31/m3 (especially given the recent energy price increases), the value of water lost due to pipe leakages equals to €10 billion/year. The reason behind this huge water loss is our aging water infrastructure. A large part of the EU and North American water pipelines which were installed during the 50s-70s, need to be replaced; however, the current pipeline renewal rate (0.6%-0.8%/year) is insufficient, and utilities face important budget issues to increase this rate. At the heart of this problem lies the lack of knowledge of pipe condition, as the structural condition of pipes of the same age can vary greatly due to several of factors (soil, water quality, etc…).
Our project aims to revolutionize the management of water supply networks and save a sizeable part of the cost of Non Revenue Water mentioned hereabove, through the development and commercialization of a robotic inspection system tailored for water pipelines.
The proposed robotic inspection system offers a comprehensive solution that combines advanced robotics, sensing capabilities, and data analytics. Our solution autonomously navigates inside the pipeline and, without disrupting its’ operation, inspects the structural condition of the pipeline (corrosion, cracks), searches for water leaks, and analyses the quality of the drinking water. The path of the robots inside the pipeline and the measurements taken, are geo-referenced, enabling the development of the Digital Twin of the water network.
The Digital Twin platform will allow our customers to visualize the layout of their pipeline networks, identify the exact pipe sections in risk of failure, enabling them to better program their pipe maintenance & renewal activities.
There is a sizeable expected impact on reduction to water losses with up to 243 millions m3 possibly saved over the next 6-year period with a cash equivalent of around 80 millions euros saved by utilities as a cost of water distributed by them.
