Ofwat unveils latest innovation fund winners

Seventeen winners have split £40m in the fourth round of Ofwat’s innovation competition, now known as the Water Breakthrough Challenge. 

The winners are listed below.

ALL-Streams HTO – led by Anglian Water - £1,380,591 

The project will demonstrate how a treatment method called Hydrothermal Oxidation can transform biowaste management in the water industry. This could create new ways to reuse resources through nutrient and energy recovery; support net zero emissions; and eliminate landfilling biosolids and harmful air pollution.

Developing a market-based approach to deliver SuDS through street works – led by Thames Water - £1,340,610 

The risk of flooding in London from heavy rain is increasing. This project incentivises utility companies to refill some of the 165,000 holes they dig in London every year with sustainable drainage systems (such as rain gardens). These will reduce strain on drains from rainwater and create a greener city.

Local Regeneration of Granular Activated Carbon – led by Welsh Water - £1,262,367 

Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) is used to remove organics such as pesticides and taste and odour compounds. GAC needs to be regenerated thermally, typically every three years, which is both costly and carbon intensive. This project will investigate different ways to regenerate GAC locally, reducing both financial and carbon costs.

METREAU: Microbial Electrochemical Technologies for REsource recovery And Utilisation – led by Northumbrian Water - £1,656,489 

METREAU will ready microbial electrochemical technology for scaled use in wastewater utilities to support against capacity pressures, reduce energy needs and carbon footprint and recover resources of economic value. A high-performing mobile unit will be developed for companies to test the benefits in wastewater treatment efficiencies ready for roll out.

No dig leak repair – From concept to reality – led by Thames Water - £6,039,069 

Leakage of drinking water from buried networks is increasingly unacceptable, but replacing water mains is costly and protracted. Repairing hidden leaks must therefore be increased sustainably and this project will develop technology to repair leaks from within live water mains, without disruptive excavations and with minimal interruptions to water supplies.

PFAS - A whole system approach to an impossible problem – led by Severn Trent Water - £1,781,200

The project will investigate treatment options for removing and destroying concentrations of PFAS from water.   

Pipebot Patrol – led by Northumbrian Water - £1,615,325 

Pipebot Patrol will develop an autonomous sewer robot that lives in the sewer, constantly inspecting and raising alerts to the precise location of blockages, as they are beginning to form. This proactive approach allows maintenance teams enough time to react before blockages cause sewer flooding.

Pipebots for Rising Mains – Technology Development Phase 2 – led by Thames Water - £1,656,229 

Pipebots for Rising Mains Phase 2 builds on work successfully completed through previous rounds of the Water Breakthrough Challenge. The project will develop technology for condition assessment inspections in live sewer rising mains to enable rehabilitation works to be planned and prioritised, reducing the risk of failure leading to pollution.

Proving the concept of sewage sludge pyrolysis – led by Thames Water - £6,205,773 

The project aims to deliver the first continuously operating, sludge-fed UK-based pyrolysis demonstration plant. Pyrolysis (a high temperature process with no oxygen present) can be used to recycle sludge to maximise the value of biosolids; ensuring a circular economy and reducing the requirement for sludge to be recycled to agricultural land.

Reducing Water Demand through Behavioural Incentivisation – led by Severn Trent Water - £1,874,010

The team has partnered with Nectar, the UK's largest loyalty scheme and customer behaviour experts, to develop a utility-sector first: using smart meter gamification to incentivise customers to reduce their consumption by awarding points for water-efficient behaviour. This can also lower water and energy bills for customers. 

River Deep Mountain AI – led by Northumbrian Water - £5,080,719 

The project will develop open-source, scalable, digital models to inform effective action to tackle waterbody pollution. Novel use of Machine Learning will efficiently analyse existing data and new diverse data inputs. This will unlock new insights into the complex factors impacting waterbodies, bringing deeper understanding and accelerating positive change.

Self-Calibrating Sensor Networks for Sustainable Water Management (SCSN) – led by Southern Water Services Limited - £1,586,000

This project will use AI tools to develop and deploy smart water quality sensors across catchments. Developing this virtual capability aims to increase the accuracy and quality of data across the sector, improving reliability for customers and protecting the environment. 

Sewage Sludge Gasification (Sustainably addressing sludge-to-land, net-zero and emerging contaminant risks) (formerly known as SENECA) – led by Yorkshire Water - £2,329,332 

This multi-partnership consortium, led by Yorkshire Water, identified Advanced Thermal Conversion (ATC) Gasification as an alternative approach to 'sludge to land'. The project seeks to prove the technical and economic viability of gasifying 100% of sewage sludge and to provide the water industry with the confidence to exploit the technology globally. 

SuDS iQ: A National SuDS Collaboration & Evaluation Platform – led by Southern Water Services Limited - £959,243 

SuDS-iQ will deliver a national online collaborative Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) platform that will support a collective understanding of what SuDS are, how SuDS work, and the benefits they provide. The platform will accelerate efficiencies in partnership working and the implementation of environmentally beneficial drainage solutions.

Support for All – led by Northumbrian Water - £1,849,851 

Support-for-All will be a national, secure, cross-sector platform sharing Priority Services Register (PSR) and other vulnerability data between water, energy, telecommunication and support organisations, ensuring a better experience for vulnerable customers. Supporting a 'tell-us-once' approach and utilitising enhanced matching, customers will receive consistent and accurate support across their utility services. 

Tapping into sewer heat – led by Severn Trent Water - £1,978,515 

Wastewater holds a substantial amount of heat energy that could help the UK in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions. However, this resource remains largely untapped. The goal of this project is to encourage widespread adoption of in-sewer heat recovery by showcasing a reliable technical and commercial solution. 

Transforming Bioresources - the Benefits of Biochar – led by Severn Trent Water - £694,431 

The project will investigate biochar production as an alternative to conventional biosolids management practices. Biochar is a charcoal-like product that can be created from sewage by-products. Biochar has several potential benefits, including improving soil fertility, sequestering carbon, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.