White paper highlights the urgent need for digitalisation in water and wastewater
A white paper from Schneider Electric presents insights and actionable outputs from its first annual European Water and Wastewater Technical Workshop. The workshop, hosted at Schneider Electric’s digital factory in Carros, France brought together leaders from 17 water and wastewater companies in the UK and EU to discuss the future of the sector.
At the event, attendees generated solutions to overcome the sector’s challenges of legacy systems remaining in operation, balancing affordability with investment, and tightening regulation. Schneider Electric has compiled the outputs of the two-day event to produce a white paper that sets the stage for modernisation in the water and wastewater sector with actionable advice on digitalisation and sustainability for companies of all sizes.
The European Water and Wastewater Technical Workshop held in 2024, comprised of workshop sessions, a factory tour, and deep-dives into technology-led solutions, the workshop encouraged insightful discussions that covered challenges, experiences and best practices.
The resulting white paper explains how achieving modernisation requires a seamless integration of IT/OT systems, support for legacy systems throughout the upgrade process, and automated conversion tools to streamline the complex transition. It is driven by three main pillars of software-centric automation: replacing silos with an ecosystem, virtualised control and digital continuity.
Wez Little, IPA Utilities Segment Leader UK&IE at Schneider Electric commented: “I am pleased to present this white paper, that looks at how industrial automation can unlock a more sustainable and efficient future for the water sector. The workshop’s outcomes highlight the sector’s vulnerability, both in terms of operational resilience and potential cyber-threats. The water industry must meet these challenges through collaboration and adoption of digitalisation strategies to enhance water management systems, leveraging the roadmap in the white paper to achieve greater efficiency, sustainability, and resilience.”
The white paper can be downloaded from Schneider Electric here
