Ofwat’s main innovation competition opens for entries

Ofwat has opened the inaugural round of its Water Breakthrough Challenge to entries, the main competition in its new £200m Innovation Fund.

There is £40m up for grabs in the first round. Entries must come from water companies in partnership with others, with diversity and creativity in partnerships encouraged. Bids must demonstrate how their proposals would help drive transformational change in the water sector, delivering for customers, society and the environment, such as by achieving net zero, protecting natural ecosystems and reducing the impact of extreme weather, or using open data to improve customer service.

The competition closes on 3 June, after which selected entrants will be invited to submit more details from 28 June. The winners will be announced in September. Winning entries will receive between £1m and £10m to support their initiatives.

The winners of Ofwat’s first innovation competition – the £2m Innovation in Water Challenge – were revealed last month and include green initiatives such as planting and restoring seagrass meadows on the Essex and Suffolk coastlines, a scheme to turn ammonia in wastewater into green hydrogen gas, and software that can monitor the degradation of wildlife habitats.