Skip to main content

water@leeds to play major role in European water innovation ecosystem, EIT Water

Category
EIT Water
Date

water@leeds are delighted to announce their key role in EIT Water, a new Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) dedicated to water, marine and maritime ecosystems, funded by the European Institute of Technology (EIT). This was made possible through our international reputation for water excellence, water stakeholder curation and project co-design and our central role in the bid development.

EIT water will tackle Europe’s most urgent water challenges including, scarcity, drought and flooding; ecosystem degradation in oceans, lakes and rivers; the shift to a circular and blue economy. To meet these challenges EIT Water will focus on: 

  • Research & Innovation: Accelerating technologies to TRL 5+ via agile consortia, regional accelerators, and linked demonstrator facilities to drive water-smart solutions and market growth  
  • Business Creation: Supporting high-value ventures in the water, marine, and maritime sectors through investor networks, mentoring programs, knowledge exchange, and incubator services  
  • Education & Skills: Expand CPD offerings, apprenticeships, student enterprise schemes, and collaborative PhDs to foster entrepreneurial talent and technical expertise.  

There are two major roles for water@leeds in EIT Water. The first is as one of the founding partners eligible to secure significant funding to undertake projects, lead activity and support the overall direction of EIT Water. 

The second is to provide the home for the UK & Ireland headquarters, one of eight regional hubs across Europe, known as Co-Location Centres (CLCs). In this role water@leeds will be responsible for driving forward EIT Water activity across the UK and Ireland, while interfacing with activity across the rest of Europe. Our CLC will co-ordinate engagement, R&I programmes, entrepreneurship and skills development activity, engaging with and leading the water sector’s actions to enhance the water innovation ecosystem, and seeking to leverage funding from national funding agencies, investors, mayoral authorities etc.  

EIT water will launch in January 2026 with full operations and allocation of funding calls beginning in January 2027. The partnership is expected to become financially sustainable over time, leveraging close cooperation between education, research and business.  

To find out more, please contact [email protected] or Professor Joseph Holden ([email protected]), Professor Martin Tillotson ([email protected]), Dr Susannah Hopson ([email protected])