The fifth Water Breakthrough Challenge is now open.
Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority for England and Wales, has established a £200 million Innovation Fund to grow the water sector’s capacity to innovate, enabling it to better meet the evolving needs of customers, society and the environment.
The Innovation Fund, delivered in partnership with Challenge Works (formerly known as Nesta Challenges) and supported by Arup and Isle Utilities, is designed to complement Ofwat’s existing approach to innovation and to help deliver against Ofwat’s strategy which highlights the role of innovation in meeting many of the challenges the sector faces.
Learn more about the Ofwat Innovation Fund
& its impact in the 2024 Annual Report:
Through the Fund, Ofwat are delivering a series of innovation competitions that water companies, in partnerships with others, can enter. We expect different rounds of the competitions to run until 2025, and Ofwat have recently closed a consultation about continuing the Fund until 2030, but our goal is that the Innovation Fund’s impact will continue well beyond even this.
17 projects have been awarded funding in the fourth round of the Water Breakthrough Challenge (‘Breakthrough 4’), announced in May 2024, sharing in approximately £40 million towards solutions that will bring benefits to water customers, society and the environment. Learn more about the 17 projects.
The Water Discovery Challenge has announced 10 winning innovations. Discovery supports early-stage innovation from anyone, with no requirement for organisations to partner with a water company to enter. Learn about the 10 cutting-edge initiatives which clinched the grand prize.
The Water Breakthrough Challenge 5 opened on 9 September 2024. Read more here.
Information on our earlier challenges is available on our past competitions page, and details of the initiatives we’ve funded to date can be found on our winners page.
To receive the latest updates from the Fund, including upcoming competition entry requirements and key dates, sign up to our newsletter.
As well as directly supporting innovative initiatives through its innovation competitions, the Innovation Fund aims to provide resources and support to help the sector innovate.
📣 Blogs, updates and innovation case studies can be found on our News & Views page
📅Information on past and upcoming events can be found on our Events page
🤝🏽Support for organisations looking to collaborate with the water sector is available on our Find a Partner page
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Ofwat Innovation Fund
Water Breakthrough Challenge
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Water Discovery Challenge
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