The Water Breakthrough Challenge 5 (‘Breakthrough 5’) is now open for entries, with Ofwat calling on water companies in England and Wales to propose bold and innovative projects to tackle some of the water sector’s biggest challenges. Read on for more information, or head to the Breakthrough 5 page to get involved.
Read more about Breakthrough 5
To date, Ofwat’s £200 million Innovation Fund has awarded more than £150 million to 93 projects across England and Wales that are pioneering solutions to improve the water sector’s environmental impact – from converting treated sewage sludge into gas, biochar and ash ‘stones’ to installing SuDs to help with flooding issues in London.
Since 2020, the Water Breakthrough Challenges have seen water companies form new cross-sector collaborations with utility providers, universities, charities, SMEs, tech giants, local and foreign governments and community organisations.
Previous winners have included robots that patrol water and wastewater pipes to pinpoint cracks, carbon capture technology to convert CO2 into household products, seagrass meadow restoration off the Welsh coast, and projects to power city buses with gas extracted from sewage.
Ofwat will award up to £40 million to even more innovative and forward-thinking water company-led initiatives in Water Breakthrough Challenge 5. It encourages entrants to put forward ideas never seen before; that encourage the testing and the rollout of new innovations for the sector, with a big focus on sharing knowledge widely.