Step inside the Isle Innovation Hub at IWA Glasgow 2026: eight curated water technologies, a live stage program, and the sector’s own view on innovation.
Inside the Isle Innovation Hub at IWA Glasgow 2026
IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition · Scottish Event Campus, Glasgow · 4–8 October 2026
When around 10,000 water professionals gather in Glasgow this October, the challenge won’t be a shortage of technology. It will be knowing which technologies are ready, and for what. That’s the gap the Isle Innovation Hub is built to close.
At this year’s IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition, Isle is curating a dedicated space on the exhibition floor that brings together eight water technology companies, a live stage program, and an interactive feature capturing what the sector itself sees as its most urgent challenge. It’s independent, evidence-led technology scouting — the work Isle does every day — made physical for the week. Alongside the scouting, Isle brings the structure to act on it: de-risking the choice, accelerating implementation, and tracking outcomes that can actually be measured, turning a good conversation on the stand into a better decision back at the utility.
Here’s what you’ll find inside.
Eight technologies, curated around real problems
Finding what you can’t see — leakage and network risk
Foresight AI connects the siloed data sitting across a utility’s network and applies AI to reduce risk: faster leak investigation (Leak Response), pipe-failure prediction for investment planning (Failure Indicator), and an AI-driven digital twin for critical water mains (Ground Truth).
FIDO Tech detects and locates leaks on pressurized pipes of any material, at scale, ranking them by size so the biggest losses get fixed first — through Leak Locate, Network Monitor, and Aqua Plus.
Knowing the health of your assets and processes — monitoring and sensing
8power builds battery-free wireless sensors that harvest energy from equipment vibration, giving utilities ten years of “fit and forget” condition monitoring on rotating assets — predicting failures before they become downtime.
Mode Labs delivers lab-grade chemical sensing in the field, using micron-scale quantum sensing for continuous, real-time measurement of phosphorus, ammonia, and other analytes across wastewater process control, environmental monitoring, and aquaculture.
Holloid turns holographic microscopy and AI into real-time bioprocess and water monitoring. Its “Hollometers” analyze microorganisms and microparticles as they occur, flagging contamination early across water, food, and pharma.
Cutting emissions and recovering value — sustainability and circularity
Variolytics, a Fraunhofer spin-off, helps wastewater treatment plants cut their climate impact by tracking nitrous oxide, methane, and CO₂ in real time and using AI to optimize aeration and nitrogen management — lowering energy, chemical use, and emissions together.
Emulsion Flow Technologies brings an advanced solvent-extraction platform — originally developed for Japanese nuclear research — to two circular-economy problems at once: recovering critical metals from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, and removing PFAS from industrial wastewater.
The science underneath — independent research
Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) anchors the Hub with more than 55 years of independent marine science and over 600 global collaborations. Through its commercial arm, PML Applications, it offers marine environmental consultancy and technology testing — the kind of independent evidence base the whole Hub is built on.
One question, answered live by the sector
At the center of the Hub is an interactive wall posing a single question: what’s the biggest challenge innovation needs to solve in water?
Every visitor can add their answer. Over the week, responses are grouped and visualized into a live, evolving picture of where the sector sees its most urgent gaps — then captured in a post-event report shared back with the community. It’s a genuine, crowd-sourced read on sector priorities, and a natural way to start a conversation at the stands.
On the stage
Alongside daily technology presentations from all eight companies, the Hub stage hosts a focused program, including:
- Designing Inclusive Water Systems — a panel on embedding gender considerations into infrastructure and nature-based solutions, from planning through delivery (Tuesday, 2:00–3:00 pm)
- The Water Innovation Fund: What It Has Achieved and Where Implementation Is Heading — an Ofwat session on the program’s outcomes to date and its next phase (Wednesday, 10:00–10:30 am)
Exhibitor presentation times are being finalized — check the Innovation Hub stage schedule for the latest.
Come find us
The Isle Innovation Hub is open throughout the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition, 4–8 October, at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow. Come to see the technology, meet the teams, and add your voice to the wall.