Project:
TORCH
Unlocking renewable heat from wastewater
TORCH (Tool for Optimising decisions for Recovery of sewer Catchment Heat) is an innovative collaborative project exploring how heat from wastewater can be captured and reused as a reliable, low-carbon energy source.
The project is developing a decision-support tool to help identify where heat recovery from sewer networks and water recycling centres is technically viable, environmentally sustainable and economically attractive.
By unlocking the potential of wastewater heat, TORCH aims to support the transition away from fossil fuel-based heating and contribute to national carbon reduction targets.
Project stats:
Number of partners:
Funding received:
Completion date:
November 2026
Addressing heat demand, affordability and carbon reduction
Heating homes and buildings in the UK still relies heavily on fossil fuels, contributing significantly to carbon emissions and rising energy costs. At the same time, wastewater networks carry large volumes of warm water every day – an underused and largely untapped source of renewable heat.
Government ambitions to expand heat networks highlight the need for new, scalable low-carbon heat sources. Wastewater offers a dependable and continuous source of thermal energy, but until now opportunities have been assessed on a case-by-case basis, making them costly, slow and difficult to scale.
TORCH is tackling this challenge by enabling faster, data-driven decision-making that connects heat sources, demand locations and infrastructure constraints across entire catchments, rather than in isolation.
Are you new to heat networks, or simply want to find out more about them? As part of its work to support market readiness and future growth, the UK government has created a 13-part video series on operating, maintaining, and optimising heat networks.
Project partners
This project brings together a diverse group of partners, each contributing specialist expertise and perspectives. From research and innovation to practical delivery, our partners play a key role in delivering TORCH. Learn more about our partners and their role in the TORCH project below.
Business Modelling Applications, a UK based technology company specialising in AI assisted tools to support and optimise decision making across complex, asset intensive organisations.
Noventa, a market leading technology
company based in Toronto who provide
turn-key heating & cooling solutions to the global district heating markets, providing heat recovery application expertise
University of Sheffield, a leading UK university, providing academic research & expertise focused on heat recovery engineering & sewer hydraulic network modelling.
University of Exeter, a leading UK university, providing academic research & expertise focused on heat transfer & energy systems modelling.
Peterborough City Council, the unitary authority for Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, delivering county and district services and providing district and net zero planning expertise to the project.
Severn Trent Water, one of the largest UK water & wastewater companies, supplying water and wastewater services to over 8 million people across the Midlands & parts of Wales
Thames Water, the UK’s largest water & wastewater services company, serving 15.5 million people in London & the South East, providing on average 2.5 billion litres of drinking water and treating 4.6 billion litres of wastewater every day
Spring is the innovation centre of excellence for the UK and Ireland water sector – Connecting problem-owners with solution-providers and sharing intelligence from hundreds of projects to accelerate innovation.
Benefits of TORCH
Reduced energy costs
By identifying least-cost heat recovery pathways, TORCH supports more affordable heat solutions for communities, developers and local authorities.
Low-carbon heat generation
Wastewater heat recovery provides a renewable alternative to fossil fuel-based heating, supporting the decarbonisation of buildings and heat networks.
Scalable decision making
The project will provide a transparent and consistent assessment and reporting structure for the industry.
Whole systems optimisation
The tool balances cost, carbon reduction and environmental performance, enabling smarter, more sustainable planning decisions.
Hear more about TORCH
The TORCH project were featured on the Planet Possible podcast on 6 November 2025. Listen here
Project Resources
TORCH News
Get in touch
To get in touch with the TORCH project team, please contact:
David Singerton dSingerton@anglianwater.co.uk
Saarah Norat sNorat@anglianwater.co.uk
Richard Buckingham rBuckingham@anglianwater.co.uk