Entries for the third round of Ofwat’s Water Breakthrough Challenge are now open, offering up to £38 million in funding to incentivise innovation in the water sector.

The competition, run by Ofwat in partnership with Challenge Works and supported by Arup and Isle Utilities, has already recognised a number of winners from its first two rounds including innovative initiatives to prevent leaks, help vulnerable customers save on bills, and reduce greenhouse gases.

The competition will invite ideas that can deliver wide-scale, transformational change that benefits customers, society and the environment.

The Water Breakthrough Challenge, run by Ofwat in partnership with Challenge Works, Arup and Isle Utilities, aims to encourage initiatives that help to tackle the biggest challenges facing the water sector, such as achieving net zero, protecting natural ecosystems and reducing leakage, as well as taking opportunities to use open data and deliver value to society.

Previous rounds of the prize have already seen numerous innovative projects win funding for their potential to benefit customers, society and the environment.

For example, Anglian Water’s Triple Carbon Reduction solution won more than £3.5 million in the first Water Breakthrough Challenge to use new technologies to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, while Northumbrian Water’s National Leakage Research and Test Centre (NLRTC), won £4.3 million in the second Water Breakthrough Challenge to test new ways to combat leakage under “real life” conditions.

Another winner of the second Water Breakthrough Challenge, Support for All (also from Northumbrian Water), received over £630,000 for its plan to build a technology platform that combines data on vulnerable customers across utility providers in order to better reach and support those in need. This could make a significant difference to families facing rising utility costs in future winters.

The new round of funding will be available through two different streams:

• The Catalyst stream, which closes on Thursday 8 December 2022, will make £8 million available to entrants seeking between £150,000 and £2 million.
• The Transform stream will make £30 million available for entries seeking between £2 and 10 million, with the first stage of entries closing on Wednesday 9 November

Winners are expected to be announced in April 2023 for the Catalyst stream, and late May for the Transform stream.

As in previous rounds, entries for the Water Breakthrough Challenge must be submitted by water companies in England and Wales, but they can enter in partnership with organisations both within and outside of the water sector. This could include universities and institutes, retailers, start-ups, or small businesses in sectors such as energy, manufacturing, health, or financial services.

Further funding will be available in early 2023 through the Water Discovery Challenge, a new competition which will aim to bring in more diverse, game-changing ideas from outside the sector.

Unlike the Water Breakthrough Challenge, there will be no requirement for organisations to partner or receive sponsorship from a water company to enter the competition, instead, innovators will be invited from sectors ranging from energy to agriculture, to bring their experience and expertise to creating a robust, high-tech water system for the future.

The Water Breakthrough Challenge is funded through Ofwat’s £200 million Innovation Fund, as part of the regulator’s goal to create an innovative and collaborative water sector that meets the needs of customers, society and the environment in the years to come. Further rounds of the Water Breakthrough Challenge are planned in 2023 and 2024.

John Russell, Senior Director at Ofwat said:

“This summer has shown the huge importance of water, and this competition will provide transformative changes that can help to better preserve and manage this vital resource. Two years’ worth of revolutionary ideas from Water Breakthrough Challenge winners show there are ways to tackle these growing challenges. These ground-breaking solutions now make it possible for the water industry to better anticipate weather and temperature changes, detect and prevent infrastructure problems, and – importantly – help customers reduce bills.

“With the launch of this round of the Water Breakthrough Challenge, we look forward to seeing even more exciting initiatives, harnessing the latest scientific and technological advances to address some of the most pressing issues of our time – and make a meaningful environmental and societal impact. We’re also excited for next year when we’ll launch our Water Discovery Challenge to invite ideas from any sector to tackle the toughest challenges facing water today and in the future.”

Click here for more information about the Water Breakthrough Challenge third round