Ofwat opens latest Water Breakthrough Challenge innovation competition

Ofwat has opened applications to the fourth round of its Innovation Fund competition.

£40m is up for grabs under Water Breakthough Challenge 4. Partnerships must be led by an English or Welsh water company. Ofwat said this round “will favour highly collaborative entries with the greatest focus on generating and sharing knowledge, and rolling out successful innovations”.

Water Breakthrough Challenge 4 has two entry streams:

• £10m is available through the Catalyst Stream for individual entries bidding for between £150,000 and £2m. The closing date for Catalyst Stream entries is 3 January 2024.

• £30m is available through the two-stage Transform Stream for individual entries bidding for between £2m and £10m (although Ofwat is open to accepting entries bidding for more than £10m, subject to certain conditions). The closing date for stage one is 19 October 2023, with stage two closing on 10 January 2024.

All entries need to respond to one or more of the fund’s four innovation themes: climate change adaptation and mitigation; environmental protection; long-term operational resilience; and testing new ways of conducting core activities.

To date, Ofwat’s £200m Innovation Fund has awarded more than £105 million.

• Innovate UK is hosting a webinar on 19 September on the future of the Ofwat innovation fund - register at: https://web-eur.cvent.com/event/d088a526-fe10-4814-9979-61eeb1847668/summary