£6m for 19 innovation projects to monitor environmental change – UKRI

The UK relies on effective environmental monitoring to support decision making, for example on actions needed to tackle the impacts of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.

Some traditional methods of environmental monitoring can be slow, limited in scope and unable to capture the full complexity of these rapidly evolving issues.

Growing urgency

There is growing urgency to protect natural resources and mitigate environmental threats, as well as a global need for more advanced, comprehensive and efficient monitoring solutions.

The UK environmental monitoring sector has access to a wide range of cutting-edge facilities and academic research and expertise, so is well placed to develop solutions and deliver economic growth.

Spanning the breadth of the UK, these collaborative projects will inform decision making to enhance environmental resilience, protect natural resources and contribute to a sustainable future.

Saving our waters

Enhancing and integrating environmental monitoring and river management approaches is crucial for safeguarding environmental and public health.

Several projects will focus on innovative solutions to monitor river health, including a sensor that will combine multiple measurements and deliver continuous water quality assessment.

Leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), a new Water Quality Index will be developed, combining these measurements with real-time data, like rainfall, to improve the accuracy and affordability of water quality monitoring.

A collaborative effort

Another project will develop a new monitoring technology that uses light-based measurement techniques to provide accurate data without the use of the harmful chemicals.

The solution will make ‘big data’ on complex river systems available to all interested parties to support land and resource managers, water users and citizen scientists in a collaborative effort to protect the environment.

Additional projects include:

• the creation of a compact, Internet of Things-enabled smart water sampler for detecting river pollution events
• a portable pathogen test device for rapid on-site bacterial water analysis, complemented by a smartphone app that integrates GPS data and images to enhance test results

Supporting farmers

Several projects are set to empower farmers with advanced tools and data, enabling them to optimise their operations, enhance sustainability, reduce risks and boost profitability.

These innovations range from a cutting-edge solution that measures and manages biodiversity through birdsong analysis, to miniaturised sensors and software designed to monitor agricultural nitrogen emissions.

Also being developed are:

• a new manure management tool for the cattle industry
• a machine learning-enabled system for monitoring soil health and biodiversity
• an intelligence-as-a-service platform that integrates environmental and commercial data

Innovation in environmental monitoring programme

This investment comes from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and UK Research and Innovation’s three-year £13.6 million research and innovation programme.

The programme funds projects aimed at advancing monitoring capabilities in strategically significant areas.

This builds on an earlier round of funding, led by the Natural Environment Research Council, focusing on research-led innovation which awarded £7 million to 13 projects in March 2024.

Driving innovation for sustainable growth

Dr Stella Peace, Executive Director for Healthy Living and Agriculture at Innovate UK, said:

These innovations are crucial for safeguarding our natural environment.

By investing in these pioneering projects, we’re helping businesses unlock innovations that make life better, ensuring that the UK leads the way in developing sustainable solutions that benefit both our economy and our communities.

Nature Minister Mary Creagh said:

Restoring nature is a key priority for government and developing new technologies and monitoring techniques to build our knowledge on the state of the environment will be a vital part of that effort.

Programmes like this give us the best possible tools to collect data and gain insights to help us safeguard our natural environment, protect human health and ensure food security, as well as showcasing the tremendous diversity of technological expertise we have in the UK.

Our support for these innovations in environmental monitoring will help us to target our nature recovery efforts to create a healthy environment for the benefit of animals, plants and people.

Bringing together expertise

Professor Gideon Henderson, Chief Scientific Advisor, Defra said:

These 19 innovative projects will help enhance the UK’s ability to monitor and respond to environmental changes.

By bringing together the expertise of businesses and the scientific community, we are equipping ourselves with the tools needed to better understand and protect our environment and investing in technologies that can be deployed domestically and globally.

This investment will help to highlight the excellent capabilities offered by the UK environmental monitoring sector.