Northumbrian Water’s Innovation Festival has returned for 2025, and this year, with a strong focus on regeneration.
The water company is bringing together innovators, businesses, and thought leaders to tackle how we can regenerate infrastructure, ecosystems, and economies for a more resilient future.
The ninth iteration of the event will see attendees from the worlds of science, technology, energy, communications and more, come together on the grounds of Gosforth Racecourse to reimagine the way we shape our world, looking at innovative ideas on how to drive sustainable growth, revitalise communities, and create lasting positive change.
Returning on 7th July, and with registration opening in mid-May, the festival is set to be the biggest ever – expecting over 2000 attendees from the UK and beyond as well as 650 students from across the region, who will attend the Young Citizens Work Experience Festival.
This Young Citizens event, held in conjunction with the main Innovation Festival, will see 14-18 year-olds from local schools and colleges get hands on, develop valuable work-based skills, learn innovative ideation techniques used across the Northumbrian Water business, as well as expand their career knowledge within the water sector and other STEM based industries as future places of work.
Angela MacOscar, Head of Innovation at Northumbrian Water, commented:
“It is hard to believe that our Innovation Festival is just shy of a decade old, and over the last few years we have seen some truly game-changing ideas.
“The week itself is always incredible, but we expect some hard work from our innovators this year too. Environmental issues are something of huge importance to our customers, and we are always striving to do better in this space, so this year it’s more important than ever before.
Nigel Watson, Information Services Director said some of the innovations, such as the Green Machine, the National Underground Asset Register and Smart Sewers are already starting to have incredibly positive environmental impacts.
Northumbrian Water supplies 2.7 million customers in the North East with both water and sewerage services.
In 2024, Northumbrian Water Group was named the world's most ethical water company for the 13th time.
For more information visit www.innovationfestival.org
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