Showerkap: the pioneering watertech startup tackling water and energy waste

Showerkap is a pioneering UK tech company on a mission to address the global water crisis – ranked among the top five global risks.

Combating water and energy waste, its vision is to change people’s relationship with water and empower both users and organisations to create a lasting impact on the environment and its communities.

The startup was formed in 2022 after founder Steve Harding became aware of how much water was wasted in household and business settings and how difficult it was to measure, monitor and manage. He used his engineering know-how to come up with a simple tech solution to address the problem and in doing so, to address the growing water shortage.

The Showerkap platform enables businesses to monitor and manage water in granular detail - delivering valuable insights that were previously hidden and reducing water and energy waste and carbon emissions.. It gives building managers the tools to gain full visibility of a building’s water use - from a managed office space to a hotel with hundreds of rooms - metrics like volume, temperature and duration are all visible.

Its unique, automated platform continuously monitors, reports, analyses, and improves water use and efficiency using real-time insights and data-driven optimisation. It improves water stewardship by engaging guests and staff with soft nudges, such as tips for water saving.

The innovation combines engineering and behavioural science in first-of-its-kind smart technology. The system features a smart box connected to flow meters, centralised cloud system and mobile app, to remotely monitor and manage water temperature and safety. It allows businesses to lower carbon emissions and enables the pursuit of net-zero targets to help meet the SD6 UN Goals for Sustainability reporting.

Showerkap’s business strategy is to partner with some of the planet’s largest water consumers, including hotels and universities and it is in partnership discussions with some of the UK’s leading businesses. In under two years, it has attracted significant interest and support from sectors including agriculture, oil and gas, higher education, hotels and hospitality and finance.

Its SaaS model features an Annual Contract Value (ACV) for cloud-based services. By offering detailed analytics and insights, Showerkap helps customers optimise their water usage and reduce their overall water cost and energy use, while also providing a recurring revenue stream.

Since its creation in 2022, the startup has completed two successful funding rounds, totalling £1 million, with an additional fundraise of £1 million running until the fourth quarter of 2024.