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Ofwat’s Fifth Water Breakthrough Challenge to Award GBP40 Million to Innovative Solutions to Industry’s Big Challenges

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  • Water Breakthrough Challenge 5 will award up to GBP40 million to highly collaborative projects which will see water companies working with promising innovators from across sectors and around the world.
  • Ideas should tackle the biggest challenges facing the water sector, including achieving net zero, preventing leaks and pollution and delivering improved services for customers.
  • Water companies are encouraged to partner with companies, charities, academic institutions and civil society organisations from outside the water sector.
  • Since 2020, the Ofwat Innovation Fund has awarded more than GBP150 million to 93 projects to expand the water sector’s ability to innovate and meet the evolving needs of customers, society and the environment

Ofwat will award up to GBP40 million to highly collaborative innovation projects led by water companies in the Ofwat Innovation Fund’s fifth Water Breakthrough Challenge.

The economic water regulator in England and Wales is seeking ambitious solutions that tackle climate change, pollution, and leakage, as well as ideas to enhance the natural environment, improve services for consumers and increase the resilience of infrastructure.

The independent judging panel will be looking for ground-breaking, collaborative innovations to help tackle the biggest challenges facing the water sector. Water companies are encouraged to partner with companies, charities, academic institutions and civil society organisations from outside the water sector to create new approaches and diverse solutions to challenges facing the industry.

Initiatives may feature advanced new technology, revolutionary commercial models, or game-changing business practices. Entries must be led by an English or Welsh water company.

Previous Ofwat innovation fund winners include:

  • Pipebots – small robots that identify faults from within pipes, a partnership between Sheffield University, Synthotech Ltd and three water companies.
  • CaSTCo is a partnership to promote citizen science and revolutionise the way data about the water environment is collected and shared – it includes 12 water and sewerage companies, the Rivers Trust, Zoological Society of London (ZSL), charities and universities.
  • Enabling Water Smart Communities – a partnership between six water companies, engineers, house builders, local government and universities – is integrating water management solutions into neighbourhoods to tackle flood risks and manage drought.

Investment from the water industry is absolutely integral to forging a healthier future for our rivers, and Ofwat’s Innovation Fund is particularly valuable in encouraging companies to work on creative, groundbreaking solutions to water challenges.

Emma Brisdion, The Rivers Trust

“The Ofwat-funded Catchment Systems Thinking Cooperative (CaSTCo) project – which is building the first national framework for citizen science and catchment monitoring standards – helped The Rivers Trust to kickstart Big River Watch, alongside a Foundation for Water Research legacy fund. Big River Watch is our entry-level citizen science survey that anyone can join via our free app. It is a really important tool to support CaSTCo in introducing new and diverse audiences to river science. More than 6,600 people took part in the first Big River Watch week last year, and we’re expecting even more with the third Big River Watch – which is taking place now until 12 September,” added Brisdion.

Since 2020, the innovation fund has awarded funding to 93 innovative projects that can transform services for customers, communities and the environment. From sewage sludge to leaks, smart water neighbourhoods to supporting vulnerable customers, these partnership-delivered projects are helping to solve the big challenges we face.

Dr Jo Jolly, Ofwat’s Director of Environment and Innovation

“Collaboration is at the core of the innovation fund – among water companies and with organisations outside of our sector. They foster new thinking, new approaches to problems, and result in solutions that may otherwise not have come about. In this fifth Water Breakthrough Challenge, we’re awarding up to GBP40 million to highly collaborative projects that will make even greater progress in solving our sector’s challenges and create a positive legacy for customers and our environment,” commented Jolly.

The competition will support initiatives that can deliver significant value aligned with one or more of the following strategic themes:

  • Responding and adapting to climate change including achieving the sector ambitions of net zero carbon, zero waste and zero leakage.
  • Protecting and enhancing the environment and natural systems, to protect current and future customers from the impacts of extreme weather and pollution.
  • Delivering long-term operational resilience and understanding infrastructure risks to customers and the environment, finding solutions to mitigate these in sustainable and efficient ways
  • Testing new ways of conducting core activities to deliver the services customers and society need, expect and value both now and in the future

Up to GBP40 million will be awarded through two streams:

  • The Catalyst stream – will award partnerships seeking between GBP150,000 and GBP2 million. It will close for entries on 6 January 2025.
  • The Transform stream – will award partnership seeking between GBP2 million and GBP10 million. First stage entries close on 30 September 2024 with the most promising entries then invited to enter a second stage in mid-November 2024.

The winners of both streams will be announced in May 2025.

More information about the Water Breakthrough Challenge, including the entry form, assessment criteria, terms and conditions and how to book a one-to-one surgery session with delivery team can be found at waterinnovation.challenges.org/breakthrough5/

About the Ofwat Innovation Fund
Ofwat’s GBP200 million Innovation Fund aims to grow the water sector’s capacity to innovate, enabling it to better meet the evolving needs of customers, society and the environment. It is encouraging new ways of working that go beyond business-as-usual innovation practices in the water industry, in particular, increasing and improving collaboration and building partnerships from within and outside the water sector.

The independent judging panel of the fifth Water Breakthrough Challenge will be announced in the coming weeks. Similar to previous rounds of the competition, it will be comprised of experts in a wide range of sectors and disciplines, with experience across industry, academia, policy development, research, consumer representation and engineering, bringing insights from within and outside the water sector.

The Innovation in Water Challenge, Water Breakthrough Challenges 1-4, and Water Discovery Challenge were delivered by challenge prize experts Challenge Works in partnership with Arup and Isle Utilities. Ofwat consulted on its proposals for the innovation fund beyond 2025 in ‘Ofwat innovation fund consultation – approach for 2025-30‘, including doubling the size of the fund to GBP400 million for 2025-30. The consultation closed on 30 April 2024. Ofwat will announce its final decisions later in 2024.

The Innovation Fund forms part of Ofwat’s approach to innovation in the water sector. Ofwat with the Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate also runs StreamLine, a joint service for innovators and businesses to get informal regulatory advice.