Conferences

Financing the Circular Water Economy

29 April 2025, The IET - Austin Court, Birmingham

Join water industry experts as we explore the question “How do we put the Circular Economy at the heart of AMP9?”

Event Overview

AMP7 saw the launch of the £200million Ofwat innovation fund. Among the funded projects were a number focussed on aspects of the Circular Economy (CE). Summaries of a selection of these have been published, and several CE projects are ongoing. The value of the innovation fund will increase to £400million in AMP8. In parallel with this initiative, AMP7 also saw UKWIR fund a tranche of projects linked to the CE, which sought to define what CE meant for the Water Sector and to identify / prioritise resource recovery opportunities from water and wastewater systems.

Whilst the Circular Economy as a concept encourages practitioners to take a systems’ view – and to bring practices back into planetary boundaries – its interpretation in the Water Sector has very much followed the precedent set by the Waste Sector and focussed on resource recovery. This is already business as usual in wastewater treatment, with advanced anaerobic digestion and subsequent valorisation of biogas / biomethane all but standard.

But what of the other resources which we know to be generated and captured by water as it flows around the urban water cycle, such as heat and nutrients? Why isn’t recovery of these resources business as usual? Has Ofwat funding created an ecosystem of innovation for the sake of innovation? Why aren’t technologies scaling-up from pilots, and why aren’t well known commercially available resource recovery technologies more common in the UK market? Are we seeing failures in policy and/or regulation – or are the issues more closely related to commercial realities and the fundamental uninvestability of these technologies? How can we integrate the Circular Economy into the core of AMP9?

Confirmed Speakers

• Jeannette Henderson, Principal, Ofwat Innovation Fund
• Ahsan Muhammad, Investment Manager, SKion GmbH
• Rob Hemsley, Chief Financial Officer, Firefly Green Fuels
• Rosemary Greenhill, Head of Water Policy, Scottish Government
• Steve Lanzon, Director, West Country Water Resource Group
• Jack Mason, Associate Director for Net Zero and Circular Economy, Binnies
• Noah Stommel, Technology Consultant Isle Utilities

Moderators

• Natasha Wiseman, Wise On Water
• David Tompkins, Associate Director, WSP

Posters

We are still accepting poster abstracts. If you would like to display a poster at the event, please contact frances.woodhead@aquaenviro.co.uk with an brief abstract. Delegate fees below will apply.

Exhibition & Sponsorship

Limited exhibition space is available at the venue so please book early to avoid disappointment. A 3m by 2m stand space + delegate is on offer for £1,500 (+VAT); this includes a trestle table and 2 chairs, plus power. Please reserve your space via the dropdown box below.

Why not stand out from the crowd and sponsor the event? Benefits include inclusive delegate places, pre-event promotion via our database/website/social channels and prominent brand visibility at the event. To find out more, please contact Frances.

Venue

IET: Austin Court, 80 Cambridge Street, Birmingham, B1 2NP

Rates

• Standard Delegate – £450 (+VAT)
• UK Water Utilities – £350 (+VAT)
• Student / Academic / NGO / Govt. Body  – £250 (+VAT)
• Exhibition stand + Delegate – £1500 (+VAT)