The £29 million partnership will combine deep technical, regulatory, and market knowledge to support Anglian Water in strengthening long-term water resilience in the East of England
01/12/2026 LONDON, UK TSX, NYSE: STN
A joint venture (JV) between TYPSA, a leading global independent engineering services and consultancy group and Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design and engineering, has been appointed as the primary consultant for Anglian Water Services’ (AWS) Desalination Technical Partner Framework. The JV will support AWS with a range of technical design expertise associated with the development of two new desalination plants.
AWS faces significant water resource challenges in the East of England with a reduction in available supply of potable water as well as an increase in demand. Without intervention, a daily shortfall of 593 megalitres of water is estimated by 2050, equating to approximately half of the current volume of water entering the network. This project will secure future water supply for millions of people and will also play a vital role in national efforts to tackle climate-driven water stress, population growth, and rising demand.
Benefitting communities for generations
As a result, two desalination plants have been initially identified by AWS to address the shortfall in Norfolk and Lincolnshire. Both will abstract and desalinate seawater from the North Sea. Initial design assumptions are that the desalination plants will include pre-treatment, reverse osmosis, and remineralisation, before the treated water is blended and pumped into supply.
As the primary desalination technical partner for AWS, the TYPSA-Stantec JV will support AWS with the development stages for both sites, leading on the technical designs for the plants. TYPSA brings extensive global desalination expertise, while Stantec’s teams hold deep UK water industry knowledge, regulatory understanding, and stakeholder engagement capabilities, working in partnership with every water company in the UK and Ireland.
The companies’ combined offering will result in a comprehensive, complex, and compliant approach for Anglian Water throughout the five year framework, with the potential to extend the support for another five years.
Innovative treatment technology
The appointment marks a significant milestone for TYPSA, building on nearly a decade of operations in the UK across the infrastructure, marine, energy, and water sectors. It reinforces TYPSA’s ability to deliver best-value solutions and international best practice to a strategic client, while contributing to the UK’s efforts to address the critical water-resource challenges that lie ahead.
This significant win follows a raft of AMP8 framework appointments for Stantec, and aligns with the Company’s strategy to increase its support for the UK’s clean water sector in which large-scale desalination is emerging as an innovative solution to regional water resource challenges.
“Our collective UK and global experience in desalination, strategic resource options, and advanced treatment methods are unparalleled in this market,” said Scott Jackson, Stantec’s regional business lead for Water in the UK and Ireland. “Having led the way in Europe’s desalination market for some time, TYPSA is the perfect partner for us as we design and deliver these world-leading plants that will benefit communities across the East of England for generations. I’m excited to show Anglian Water the strength and breadth of our offering throughout this AMP and beyond.”
Javier Olazabal, TYPSA UK managing director, added: “Stantec is the number one design and engineering consultant for the UK’s water sector, and we’re proud to share our unique technical insight and desalination expertise as part of this exciting joint venture. Together, we will support Anglian Water in delivering resilient, future-proofed water infrastructure for the communities that need it most.”
Kate Cassalli, head of programme development for Anglian Water, said: “This is an exciting next step in our plans for desalination, and we’re really pleased to be welcoming TYPSA-Stantec and Acciona-Agua as our Primary Partner, along with RSK-GHD JV and Veolia as Secondary Partner.
“Seawater desalination is a fairly new technology for the UK water industry, so our partners’ technical expertise will be vital in progressing these plans. With Stantec’s record as the top design and engineering consultant for the UK water sector, and TYPSA’s position as Europe’s leading desalination consultant, we’re confident that we’ve got the right expertise supporting us as we take on this new challenge.”
Find out more about Stantec and its holistic range of interdisciplinary services. Find out more about TYPSA.
About Stantec
Stantec empowers clients, people, and communities to rise to the world’s greatest challenges at a time when the world faces more unprecedented concerns than ever before.
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