The water regulator has extended its innovation competition to attract entries from outside the water sector with a new open access stream that will begin next year.
Ofwat will make £4 million available to innovators from any industry which have ideas that could benefit water companies and customers. Unlike previous streams of the competition, organisations will not need to partner with or receive sponsorship from a water company to enter.
The innovation competition, which was launched as part of PR19, may be extended into the next price review following a consultation, Ofwat said, as it announced the next round of the Water Breakthrough Challenge will kick off in October.
A total of £38 million funding will be available to water companies and their partners entering either the Catalyst or Transform streams. Entrants to the Catalyst stream can bid for between £500k and £2 million from a total pot of £8 million, while entries in the Transform competition can bid for £2 million to £10 million, with up to £30 million available.
John Russell, senior director at Ofwat commented that the ambition of previous entries has demonstrated the sector’s commitment to build a resilient water system for customers and the environment.
“We need greater innovation in the water sector to tackle the significant challenges it faces. The innovation fund has inspired multiple collaborations between companies in and outside of the water sector,” he said.
Previous projects to be awarded funding have included bio-engineering solutions for dealing with ammonia and phosphorus pollution, carbon capture initiatives, and cutting-edge research projects to produce green hydrogen from sewage.
Russell added: “Over the next three years we will distribute approximately £120 million to more innovative initiatives. I’m pleased to announce the return of the Water Breakthrough Challenge this autumn, plus an entirely new competition open to innovators from any sector with ideas capable of positive transformation for the water industry to follow early in 2023. We’re also currently consulting on continuing the fund to 2030. ”