The second round of the Water Breakthrough Challenge (‘Breakthrough 2’) opened on 11 October 2021, with two streams of funding available for innovative initiatives which deliver benefits for customers, society and the environment.
In Breakthrough 2, water companies in England and Wales could bid for funding through two streams:
Approximately £5 million is available.
Individual entries can bid for £100,000 – £1 million.
Entries opened on 11 October 2021 and closed on 8 December 2021.
Approximately £30 million is available.
Individual entries can bid for £1 million – £10 million.
Stage 1 entries opened on 11 October 2021 and closed on 16 November 2021. Stage 2 entries opened on 15 December 2021 and close on 8 February 2022.
Both streams of the Water Breakthrough Challenge are open to entries from water companies in England & Wales, including NAVs, but they can partner or form a group with any organisation to enter.
Similar to our previous competitions, for Breakthrough 2, we are restricting direct access to water companies (including NAVs) in England & Wales.
However, we strongly encourage partnerships with non-water companies. To help build new connections in the water sector, we are hosting pitch videos from innovative suppliers interested in working with water companies on our Water Innovation Directory.
We have committed to keeping eligibility under review and are exploring ways to create more opportunities for innovators and other stakeholders within and outside the water sector in future competitions
In response to feedback from the water sector, Breakthrough 2 brought together elements from the first rounds of both the Water Breakthrough Challenge and the Innovation in Water Challenge to provide a unified and streamlined process for water companies in England and Wales and their partners to access the Fund.
The Catalyst stream of the Water Breakthrough Challenge uses a streamlined, single-stage entry process, proportional to the risk and value of the entries being submitted.
The two-stage entry process for the Transform Stream aims to ensure that entrants can invest their time developing proposals that have the greatest chance of being awarded funding, while still providing Ofwat and the judging panel sufficient information.
Both streams will be open to entries from water companies in England & Wales, including NAVs. However we encourage entries from partnerships between water companies, as well as with organisations in the water sector supply chain, and beyond.
After consulting with the sector, we are testing a relaxed IPR policy for part of the Catalyst Stream. Under this change, owners of background IPR will be able to charge a licence fee at a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory rate, where this is required to deliver the benefit of the foreground IPR.
You can read more about this new position on the Catalyst Stream page or in Ofwat’s full decision on their website.
Entries to the first round of the Water Breakthrough Challenge (‘Breakthrough 1’) closed on 3 June 2021, and we announced the nine winners of Breakthrough 1 on 30 September 2021. Read about their initiatives.
You can access information about the first round of the Water Breakthrough Challenge on archived pages here. Please note that this information only applies to the first round of the competition. Future rounds are subject to change.
