Thames Water, the UK’s largest water utility by customer numbers, has formalized a 13-month operational contract with Gateshead-based start-up Origin Tech to embed AI-driven satellite leak detection across its distribution network. The agreement is designed to reduce water losses by more than 100 million litres per day and marks the first time any British water company has incorporated Origin Tech’s Origin Orbit system into its day-to-day leakage operations rather than treating it as a standalone trial.
From Pilot to Full Integration
The contract follows an 18-week proof-of-concept programme during which Origin Orbit pinpointed more than 800 leaks within Thames Water’s network, generating estimated savings of 8.7 million litres per day. Several of those leaks were losing water at rates exceeding 10 litres per second, a rate equivalent to filling a bathtub roughly every eight seconds. The scale and speed of those results formed the basis for the transition to a standing operational arrangement.
Under the new terms, a dedicated crew of 20 specialists will be deployed across the network, each team expected to identify approximately 25 leaks per week. That throughput, if sustained, would represent a material step change in Thames Water’s detection capacity and contribute to the company’s regulatory commitment to cut total leakage by 22% against its 2019/20 baseline by 2029/30, a target set by sector regulator Ofwat in its December 2024 final determination for the 2025-30 price review period.
How Origin Orbit Works
Origin Orbit uses near-Earth orbit satellites combined with proprietary AI software to analyze subtle variations in soil composition and surface conditions that can indicate escaping water below ground. The system cross-references satellite imagery with clients’ existing GIS pipe data to build a model that flags points of interest for field verification, delivering location accuracy within a 30-metre search radius. Because the technology does not require line-of-sight clearance, it can identify leaks beneath tree canopy and foliage, a practical advantage in urban and semi-rural distribution zones.
According to Origin Tech, 92% of leaks flagged by Origin Orbit were not previously visible at the surface and would not have been identified through routine physical inspection, which is a significant consideration for a network like Thames Water’s where a large proportion of pipes predate the 1920s.
A Sector Under Pressure to Perform
Thames Water has faced sustained scrutiny over its leakage record. Industry data places its three-year average losses in the range of 580 to 630 million litres per day, among the highest of any English and Welsh utility by absolute volume, and the company was rated as a laggard on leakage performance in Ofwat’s 2024/25 company performance report. Ofwat’s final determination for the current five-year period allocates Thames Water £161 million specifically for leakage reduction investment, with financial penalties attached if annual targets are missed. The broader AMP8 capital programme approved for Thames runs to £20.5 billion across 2025/30.
The Anglian Water satellite leak detection programme, which Kurrant has covered in depth, shows that remote sensing approaches are gaining traction across the sector. Anglian deployed technology from Asterra to address the particular challenge of rural infrastructure, where traditional acoustic methods are less effective over long pipe runs. Thames Water’s adoption of Origin Tech represents a parallel commitment but with a system designed for deployment at scale across a dense urban and peri-urban network.
Origin Tech’s Market Position
Founded in 2019 by Phil Surtees and John Marsden, Origin Tech has grown to serve 12 UK water companies and states that its technology has prevented more than three billion litres from being lost to leakage to date, with over 10,000 leaks repaired. The company operates two core products: Origin Orbit for satellite-guided detection and Origin No Dig, a trenchless sealing technology that can close a leak without excavation or precise pipe location data, combining both into its Origin Find and Fix service.
In January 2026, Origin Tech secured a multi-million-pound growth investment from BGF, the UK’s most active growth capital investor, to accelerate product development and international expansion. The funding is part of BGF’s broader £3 billion commitment to high-potential UK businesses over five years, with £400 million specifically earmarked for companies in Yorkshire and the North East. The exact sum invested in Origin Tech has not been publicly disclosed.
The Thames Water contract is the most prominent operational deployment Origin Tech has announced to date and is likely to serve as a reference case as the company pursues international growth. For Thames Water, the arrangement represents one component of a wider effort to close the gap between its current leakage performance and what its regulator, customers, and financial restructuring process require it to achieve.
