Quensus, a smart water management technology provider, has won WEL1 funding to trial The WIN Initiative, a project designed to root out hidden water waste in commercial buildings by pairing real-time consumption data with occupancy insight and turning the findings into practical action plans.
The project, formally titled Enabling Non-Household Water Reduction through an Action-Driven Water-Insurance Nexus, was chosen in the opening round of the Water Efficiency Lab, a national innovation programme financed through Ofwat’s Water Efficiency Fund. Quensus will deliver the initiative alongside partners Direk, Aviva, Wates, Everflow, the University of Surrey, Weir The Agency and Waterwise. It is one of seven projects awarded backing in this first competition, which prioritised innovations that give households and businesses the visibility and tools needed to cut their consumption, lower bills and protect the environment.
The trial will run for 18 months across 30 commercial buildings, with more than 1,000 water and occupancy sensors deployed to map how consumption relates to the way each site is actually used. Because occupancy shifts throughout the day, and cleaning routines, visitor numbers, plant rooms, washrooms and kitchens all influence demand, facilities teams often struggle to separate normal usage from inefficiency, hidden leaks or avoidable waste. By fusing sensor readings with Water Management Plans, the project will produce prioritised fix lists that convert raw monitoring information into clear operational steps, allowing teams to act before small issues escalate.
Quensus builds technology that helps organisations move past basic water monitoring towards measurable operational change, giving building operators clarity on where waste sits, why it is occurring and which interventions matter most.
Beyond the trial itself, the project will explore the creation of an insurance-backed efficiency standard for commercial property. By linking verified monitoring data with building performance insight, it will examine how insurers, water companies, facilities managers and technology providers can jointly reduce the risk posed by escape of water events and undetected leaks, which carry significant financial, operational and environmental costs. The Water Efficiency Lab, run by Ofwat and Challenge Works with support from Arup and Isle Utilities, will distribute £25m through annual themed competitions between 2025 and 2030, with £5m awarded in this first round.
Quensus CEO Dr Daniel Simmons said, “This funding transforms how businesses target hidden water waste. By fusing water data with occupancy context, we give facilities teams the exact insights needed to take immediate action. This validation accelerates our mission to establish a nationwide standard for sustainable, data-driven water management.”
Ofwat managing director of RAPID Paul Hickey said, “These seven projects are designed to make water-efficient use the easy default in homes and businesses across England and Wales, through smarter appliances, better data and tools that put useful information directly into customers’ hands. This £5 million prize is the first tranche of £25 million that will be awarded through the Water Efficiency Lab over five competitions, supporting innovators whose work will help deliver more resilient water services for customers and the environment.”
Stay ahead of the decisions shaping the industry. Read the daily InsurTech news for the strategic intelligence and early insight InsurTech leaders rely on.
Copyright © 2026 FinTech Global
