Entries open for second Water Breakthrough Challenge

Entries have opened for Ofwat’s second Water Breakthrough Challenge, calling for initiatives to drive innovation and collaboration within the water sector and beyond – with the winning partnerships able to win a share of approximately £39 million. Following the successful partnerships formed in the first Water Breakthrough Challenge between water companies and the likes of conservation charities, technology giants and academia, the second challenge is encouraging even more creative partnerships, focused on all kinds of innovation – from cutting-edge technologies, to new ways for the water sector to collaborate and engage with customers.

The Water Breakthrough Challenge is part of the water regulator’s pioneering £200m fund to unleash a wave of innovation in the water sector and deliver transformative benefits for consumers, society and the environment. It aims to encourage radical start up and scale up partnerships from both within and outside the water sector, tackling major issues 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.

This fund is specially for initiatives to drive the long-term transformation in the services water companies provide– drawing in new perspectives and fresh ideas from across the globe, and across the worlds of academia and business.

The winners of the first round of the competition were announced last month with water companies partnering with the likes of Airbus, Microsoft, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), and the Rivers Trust.

£9 million was awarded to projects that tackle the health of rivers and waterways, while a further £12.8 million was awarded to projects that will target the need to drastically reduce the emission of CO2 and other pollutants from the water treatment process. An additional £14.2 million was awarded to projects that aim to resolve challenges facing communities and vulnerable water users, as well as prevent leakages to reduce bills.

For this round of the competition, there are two streams of funding:

• Catalyst Stream – Approximately £5 million is available for entries seeking funding of between £100,000 – £1 million. The Catalyst Stream will close for entries at 12pm on 8th December 2021.
• Transform Stream – Approximately £34 million is available for entries seeking funding of between £1 million – £10 million. Stage 1 of the Transform Stream will close for entries at 12pm on 16th November 2021. Stage 2 entries will open on 15 December 2021 and close at 12pm on 8th February 2022.

Both streams are open to initiatives aligned with one or more of Ofwat’s five strategic innovation themes. Initiatives in the Catalyst stream should, at a minimum, reach the stage of prototyping and testing some components of their solution with real users; while initiatives in the Transform stream should go beyond this and deliver tangible benefits for customers, society and the environment.

John Russell, Senior Director at Ofwat, said: “Through our Innovation Fund we want to bring in fresh thinking and inject new ideas and ways of working into the water sector to tackle the major challenges we face. Promoting the formation of new partnerships within the water sector and beyond, the Water Breakthrough Challenge encourages a start-up like approach to overcoming challenges with the potential to scale the solutions for long-term impact.

“Our goal is to create a more open, collaborative, progressive and outward-facing sector – supporting water companies to tap into new opportunities to learn from other industries and transform practices to make a lasting difference to the environment, society and people’s lives. The innovation we’ve seen in the two previous competitions have exceeded our expectations in their ambition and imagination and we’re excited to see what entrants come up with in this round.”

Holly Jamieson, New Frontiers Director, Nesta Challenges, commented: “The water sector, like many others, continues to confront the challenge of climate change, while at the same time needing to support customers and deal with an ageing infrastructure. By collaborating with others in the sector, as well as other industries, we can ensure the water sector is well armed with breakthrough solutions to help them overcome these pressing challenges and benefit water customers, wider society and the environment – long into the future.”

Arlene Goode, Associate, Arup said: “We were thoroughly impressed with the winning entries to the first round of the Water Breakthrough Challenge and this round is set to be equally full of innovative ideas to transform the sector. We’re looking forward to seeing how the water sector continues to step up to the challenge, with even more partnerships formed, to deliver revolutionary solutions that benefit both consumers and the environment.”

Caroline Wadsworth, Head of Strategic Partnerships, Isle Utilities Said: “The commitment shown by the water companies to increasing the rate of innovation in the sector has been inspiring. The ideas developed, or in development, show the key role the water sector has in securing a resilient and sustainable future for all of us. As we enter the next round of funding, we are excited to be part of the process, and wait with baited breath to see the ideas, partnerships and innovations that come forwards.”

New innovation challenges will be announced through to 2025, however Ofwat’s goal is that the Innovation Fund’s impact will be felt well beyond this.

More information about the second Water Breakthrough Challenge is available here.