This funding round has closed.

iX Challenge: Identifying leaks and seepage in canal infrastructure

Applications closed

Funding: Contact funder
Deadline: 27 October 2026
Location: England
Applications: Applications closed

Overview

This is an innovation challenge from Canal & River Trust, run through Innovate UK Business Connect and its Innovation Exchange programme. The Trust wants low-cost, non-invasive ways to spot canal leaks and seepage, especially hidden leaks that cannot be seen at the ground surface.

You could suit this if you have a technology proven in another sector that could be adapted for canals. Ideas can include remote sensing, drones, boat-mounted or handheld sensing, citizen-science data capture, or machine learning tools that show inspectors where to look next. The Trust also welcomes ideas that help estimate how serious a leak is. It has a large volunteer base that might help gather data. Leaks around culverts and locks are of particular interest.

This is not a fixed-sum grant, and the page gives no award amount. Selected solutions may be invited to pitch to the Trust and could be considered for pilot trials. They could be adopted more widely if trials succeed and make commercial sense. Pilot budgets are still to be confirmed. Other benefits may include support from Innovate UK Business Connect, technical support, event invitations and investor introductions.

Applications close at 5pm on 27 October 2026. The challenge is open to applicants across the UK.

One practical point: your solution should not need canals to be drained or navigation to be badly disrupted, and it must be affordable for repeated use. Say where your system would not work, and include indicative capital and running costs if you can.

Official source: https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/opportunities/ix-challenge-identifying-leaks-and-seepage-in-canal-infrastructure/. Last checked by GrantMatch on 16 October 2026.

Requirements to check

Who can apply:

limited companysole traderpartnershipsocial enterprise

Key requirements:

Solutions must be non-invasive and low-cost enough for broad, repeated use
Detection must not require dewatering canals or major disruption to navigation
Applicants must be UK based or intend to set up a UK base, and able to support UK deployment
Proposals should state how often data is gathered and how it is triangulated to confirm a leak
Pilot budgets are to be confirmed and any pilot is subject to suitability, safety, procurement requirements and available budget

You can apply if you are an established business, academic institution, start-up, SME or individual entrepreneur. You must be UK based, or intend to set up a UK base, and be able to support UK deployment. The challenge lists locations across all regions of England, plus Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Solutions should not rely on pressurised pipe leak detection alone, need canals to be dewatered, or depend on expensive bespoke equipment.

This summary may not include every exclusion. Check the full eligibility rules, including who and what the funder will not support.

Who is this for?

Businesses, start-ups, SMEs, academic teams and individual entrepreneurs with sensing, drone, remote sensing or data analysis technology that could be adapted to find hidden leaks in canals.

Sectors

Professional & Scientific Services Water & Waste Management

Regions

England

No published award history for Innovate UK Business Connect. Some funders do not publish their grants data.

Full details from Innovate UK Business Connect

Innovate UK Business Connect is supporting Canal & River Trust to identify innovative, low-cost methods for detecting canal leaks and seepage, particularly hidden leaks not visible at the ground surface.

How to apply

Use the "Find out more and apply" button on the Innovate UK Business Connect opportunity page. Your proposal should state how often you would gather data and how you would triangulate it to build confidence that a leak exists. Include indicative capital and running costs if possible. The Innovation Exchange team can be contacted with questions.

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