Published 25th Oct 2023, 16:45 BST

The loss of gas from the network, otherwise known as shrinkage, is the dominant element of Great Britain's gas sector’s business carbon footprint, accounting for more than 1 per cent of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions.

Harrogate-based Synovate is now working with the gas networks to deploy a robot to combat shrinkage. The LeakVISION robot is designed to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from utility networks while reducing the excavation required to find leaks.

Simon Langdale, engineering director at Synovate, said: "We continue to develop and invest in a large fleet of robots and operator training to support the utility companies fight against leaks. Addressing shrinkage in a low-impact manner is crucial to reducing road disruptions for councils and road users. It will also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support the nation's climate goals.

Harrogate-based Synovate has worked on LeakVISION, a robot designed to identify leaks along the UK's gas distribution network.

"We believe this scalable rapid-response technology is essential to maintaining services for homeowners and businesses across the UK. Synovate's technology ensures the faster and more efficient detection and repair of gas leaks, contributing positively to households, communities, and the environment."

The issue of leakage is a significant one for the gas companies. Recently, a significant methane leak in the UK was detected from space. Over three months, a gas main in Cheltenham experienced a leak visible by satellite. 7,500 houses might have been powered for a year by the amount that leaked, and methane is a potent greenhouse gas.

The design and development of the robots took two years and an investment of £1.2 million. Synovate collaborated with engineering experts from Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol, and Leeds Universities.

LeakVISION inspects pipelines using heat-seeking sensors to identify leakage points. Compared to traditional excavation techniques, LeakVISION is easy to deploy and provides immediate information to technicians, which speeds up leak detection and repair.

The robots were trialled by Cadent, the UK's largest gas distribution network, to check for and pre-emptively prevent leaks ahead of the Coronation festivities in the capital. The use of robots minimised the need for roadworks at a time when London was extremely busy with hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Harrogate engineering firm develops robot to find gas leaks along UK's distribution network