The World Water-Tech Innovation Summit hosted in London welcomed over 520 utilities, regulators, engineering firms, technology giants, investors and start-ups to exchange ideas, share experiences and create new partnerships to drive greater climate resilience.

Over two action-packed days, utilities, technology providers, investors, and policymakers alike enjoyed influential panels, small group targeted discussions and energetic pitching sessions. With so many insights – we’ve selected some of the standout moments below.

Enjoy our summary with video highlights, photo gallery and impactful takeaways. Remember, the summit platform remains active until March 26 for you to enjoy 1-1 video networking and watching sessions on demand.

Relive the Highlights

Photo Gallery

Who Joined Us?


Highlights from the Summit Programme

Speakers:
Josien Sluijs, Managing Director, AQUA FOR ALL, THE NETHERLANDS
Gary White, Founder, WATER.ORG, USA

Opening Fireside Chat: Bridging the Financing Gap to Access Clean Water

” There’s 2 billion people without access to clean drinking water, 4 billion people without good sanitation solutions and according to the World Bank, we need trillions to bridge the financing gap to access clean water. We do need a lot more investment in water to become mainstream. Public and philanthropic capital is simply not enough.”

Josien Sluijs, Managing Director, AQUA FOR ALL, THE NETHERLANDS

Achieving Resilience in Water: Navigating Geopolitics, Climate and Risk

“The business of water and sanitation is not to sell water or to sell a service but to gain trust. The ordinary citizen will have to trust that there will be good quality and quantity of water when they turn on their taps.”

Leonardo Manus, Executive Director, Water & Sanitation, CITY OF CAPE TOWN

Speakers: Carly Perry (SPRING), Helen Wakeham,  (ENVIRONMENT AGENCY), Kishia Powell, (WSSC WATER),  Leonardo Manus, CITY OF CAPE TOWN, Apollo Tiglao (MAYNILAD), Claire Mathieu (SUEZ)

Speakers: Bob Stear (SEVERN TRENT WATER), Amanda Lake, (JACOBS), Elise Cartmell, (SCOTTISH WATER), James Cooper, (ARCADIS), Gurdev Singh, (SINGAPORE PUB), Anja Eimer (SIEMENS)

Decarbonising Water: Quantifying Progress Towards Net-Zero for the Water Industry

“Most people would agree that within the water industry, we have very low risk tolerance. We go to events like this and we talk about what we need to do and we don’t necessarily act on this. How do you actually take the talk and convert it into action?”
James Cooper, Global Director of Water, ARCADIS, USA

Industry Collaboration for Water Stewardship: Food Beverage Industry

“What’s going to move the needle is changing the way that we talk about water. If we can communicate that water is the lynchpin of biodiversity and of nature, you then immediately have the attention of leadership.”
Francesca O’Hanlon, Senior Manager of Water, COCA-COLA EUROPACIFIC PARTNERS (CCEP), UK

Speakers: Lydia Whyatt, (EAU/ZERO), Desirée Marín, (AGBAR / ACT4WATER), Francesca O’Hanlon, (COCA-COLA EUROPACIFIC PARTNERS (CCEP)), Sian Chapman, (NESTLÉ WATERS), Sandrine Ricard (CHIVAS BROTHERS), Andreas Kirketerp (CARSLBERG)

Breakout Discussions

NEW for 2025: Running parallel to the main stage discussions, the themed breakout programme offered valuable touch-points and focused networking, allowing delegates to secure valuable face time with industry leaders. 
Thanks to our breakout hosts: CONTINUUM INDUSTRIES, FINNISH WATER FORUM, QATIUM, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC and MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC. 

 

SEE 2025 BREAKOUT SCHEDULE

 

Start-Up Pitches

From low-energy desalination and recycled fertiliser to PFAS destruction technologies and AI-powered asset management platforms, start-ups from around the world pitched on stage, and showcased their solution in the sold-out exhibition. 

What Our Delegates Say

“It’s a must-attend event in my busy calendar. I never turn down the opportunity to hear from other global innovators, see emerging new technologies, catch up with well-known friends and colleagues and to meet new people that I need to know about to see how we can help each other.” 
Head of Innovation, UNITED UTILITIES

It was my first time attending and I found it excellent. Managed to get a dozen 1-1 meetings booked in one day through the app, meeting the people I was looking to meet which made such a big difference.
Technical Director, WSP

This summit has been the key to establish partnerships with other utilities, as well as with technology providers. Today, we work a lot more with international stakeholders than we did in the past.
CEO, AGUAS DO PORTO

This event has been a great opportunity not only to show our solutions and experience, but also to connect with potential customers and partners. Definitely a fantastic opportunity to take the pulse of the water sector globally.
Head of Product and Technology, AGANOVA

See You Next Time

After such a great summit, we’re already excited to see how we can grow the summit in 2026! Save the date now, and keep in touch with Waveney Metcalfe if you’re interested in taking an active role as a summit partner, speaker or start-up.