Ten fresh faces win Ofwat Discovery funding

Ten teams of innovators from outside the water industry have secured funding of up to £450,000 each in Ofwat’s first ever Water Discovery Challenge.

The competition, worth £4.5m, is part of the Ofwat Innovation Fund and is the first element of the Fund exclusively for non-water sector players to secure funding for ideas to help solve the biggest challenges facing the industry. 

Over the next six months, winners will also receive non-financial support to further the development of their solutions such as mentoring, along with a final showcase event that will allow them to pitch their projects to potential water company partners and/or investors. 

The winners were:

ACQUIRE (Artificial intelligence and Case based reasoning to improve water Quality Incident Response) - led by Mounce Hydrosmart  and partners (University of Sheffield and RBMTS Ltd) – awarded £449,844.

This project will analyse drinking water quality incident reports from water companies and other sources using the latest AI techniques to develop an interactive management tool and online portal benefiting the industry and its customers.

An innovative membrane technology for brackish and seawater desalination powered by low-grade waste heat – led by Waterwhelm and AtkinsRéalis – awarded £449,831.

A new technology for desalination and water reclamation, designed to operate at low pressure, thereby reducing both initial capital investment and ongoing maintenance expenses. Powered by waste heat, this circular solution achieves the lowest-ever rate of electricity consumption and CO2 emissions, contributing to a more sustainable and cost-effective approach to water treatment.

Destruction of high impact greenhouse gases and generation of green electricity at wastewater treatment sites using fuel cell technology – led by the School of Chemistry at University of St. Andrews – awarded £449,640.

Researchers from the School of Chemistry at the University of St. Andrews are developing fuel cell technology to capture and destroy greenhouse gases at wastewater treatment sites and to simultaneously generate useful green electricity.

Fully Structural Spray in Place Pipe (SIPP) lining providing burst protection for high-risk sewage rising mains – led by Resimac partnered with Schur-BPH – awarded £449,900.

Resimac has developed a rapid and cost-effective solution for rehabilitating rising sewer pipelines, combining spray lining techniques with cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) technology to create a fully structural liner inside the existing pipe and, in doing so, eliminating the need for extensive excavation during the rehabilitation process.

Innovative coagulant free phosphorus removal technology – led by Cranfield University – awarded £450,000. 

Optimising phosphorus removal and recovery from wastewater, addressing environmental concerns, and enhancing resource efficiency in wastewater treatment processes.

Magnetic nanocomposites for DOC removal from drinking water – led by Lancaster University – awarded £449,518.

A new sustainable technology for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal at water treatment works, enhancing water quality and ensuring environmental sustainability by efficiently addressing organic contaminants in the water treatment process.

Nonthermal 3D plasma - a novel Advanced Oxidation Process for water treatment – led by ANAMAD with and partners (University of Southampton, Kingston University, and IEG) – awarded £450,000.

Developed a cold plasma device that removes pharmaceuticals, pesticides and forever chemicals from water.

Renewable Energy Via Aqueous-phase Reforming (REVAR) – led by ICMEA-UK and partners (Aston University and Costain Group) – awarded £426,700.

ICMEA-UK's REvAR technology extracts energy from organic-rich wastewater (e.g. sewage sludge) in a sustainable and cost-efficient way.  The technology is rapid, compact and creates an energy surplus and cleaner water.

Freeox - replacement of chlorination using H2O2 synthesis; for the removal of pathogens and residual disinfection of potable water – led by Cardiff University and Origin Aqua – awarded £450,000.

Cardiff University together with Origin Aqua are replacing chlorination with hydrogen peroxide synthesis to provide a lower-energy and more efficient method of potable water disinfection.

senSiteUQ: Sensible Sensor Siting – led by digiLab Solutions Limited and Yorkshire Water – awarded £436,286.

senSite UQ uses Uncertainty Quantification and AI optimisation techniques for sensor deployment and monitoring in the wastewater network, creating a cost-effective solution for water companies, suppliers and the supply chain.