Ondo InsurTech PLC (LSE:ONDO), a London-listed leader in claims prevention technology for home insurers, has signed an agreement with Southern Water to drive water efficiency within the utilities group’s area.
Southern Water will carry out an initial pilot in the coming months to introduce LeakBot to over 1,000 customers, with the aim of achieving similar water reduction results as the Portsmouth Water trial carried out earlier in the year.
LeakBot achieved a 60% reduction in water leaks within the Portsmouth Water area, an estimated 24 litres per day, or 67% of the 36 litres per day target set by Ofwat.
The results were announced at the Spring Innovation Showcase in June, attended by over 100 professionals in the water industry, including representatives from all UK water companies.
Southern Water provides water to over 2.5 million homes. Based on the Portsmouth Water findings, if LeakBot were rolled out to Southern Water customers, 83 megalitres of water a day could be saved, the equivalent of 32 Olympic swimming pools.
"There has never been a more pressing time to save every drop of water,” said Tim McMahon, managing director of water at Southern Water, who noted that the southeast is officially “water stressed”.
“Climate change, causing hotter summers and less rainfall, and population growth, means we have more people and less water to go around. So, we must act to reduce water wastage.
McMahon added: “We've been impressed by the results of the activity we've seen so far from LeakBot and we're looking forward to seeing the impact this technology could have on reducing leaks and improving engagement in the Southern Water area."
Craig Foster, Ondo’s chief executive, commented: "We're increasingly excited about the opportunity to work with water companies to reduce water wasted through leaks. When combining the business cases for both water companies and insurers, we have a proposition which could scale quickly and really add benefit to both industries and their customers."