Information about past rounds of the competitions can be found below.
The Ofwat Innovation Fund has been delivering a series of innovation competitions since 2021. We expect different rounds of the competitions to run until 2030, but our goal is that the Fund’s impact will continue well beyond this.
To learn more about winners, read project updates and access resources created by our funded projects, visit the Winners page.
The primary objective of the first Innovation in Water Challenge (IWC) IWC was to encourage new ways of working that went beyond business-as-usual innovation practices in the water sector, in particular, increasing and improving collaboration and building partnerships from within and outside the water sector. Entries to round one of the Innovation in Water Challenge (IWC) opened on 18 January and closed on 26 February 2021. Water companies (and their partners) could bid for between £50,000 and £250,000 per entry.
The judging panel convened in March 2021 to recommend which entries should receive funding, and the winners were announced on 21 April 2021.
11 winning entries shared £2.16 million of funding.
You can read reflections on the Innovation in Water Challenge, and the first two rounds of the Water Breakthrough Challenge in our End of Pilot Report.
The Water Breakthrough Challenge was the second competition funded through the Ofwat Innovation Fund.
The Challenge aimed to spark ambitious innovation and enable new approaches and ways of working; equipping the water sector to address the big challenges facing the sector, driving far-reaching and long-lasting benefits to customers, society and the environment across England and Wales now and into the future. Entries opened on 6 May 2021 and closed on 30 July 2021. Water companies (and their partners) could bid for between £1 million to £10 million per entry.
The judging panel convened in September 2021 to recommend which entries should receive funding, and the winners were announced on 30 September 2021
9 winning entries shared £36 million of funding.
You can read reflections on the first two rounds of the Water Breakthrough Challenge, as well as the Innovation in Water Challenge in our End of Pilot Report.
Water Breakthrough Challenge 2 opened on 11 October 2021 and saw a move two streams of funding available for innovative initiatives which deliver benefits for customers, society and the environment. Catalyst closed on 8 December 2021 and Transform closed on 8 February 2022.
The Catalyst Stream aimed to encourage new ways of working that go beyond business-as-usual innovation practices in the water sector, in particular, increasing and improving collaboration and building partnerships from within and outside the water sector. Water companies (and their partners) could seek funding of between £100,000 and £1 million per entry.
The Transform Stream aimed to spark ambitious innovation and enable new approaches and ways of working, equipping the water sector to address the big challenges facing the sector, driving far-reaching and long-lasting benefits to customers, society and the environment across England and Wales now and into the future. Water companies (and their partners) could seek funding of between £1 million and £10 million per entry.
The judging panel convened in February 2022 for Catalyst and March 2022 for Transform to recommend which entries should receive funding, and the winners were announced on 22 March 2022 for catalyst and 28 April 2022 for Transform.
13 winning Catalyst entries shared £5.2 million of funding.
7 winning Transform entries shared £20.2 million of funding.
You can read reflections on the first two rounds of the Water Breakthrough Challenge, as well as the Innovation in Water Challenge in our End of Pilot Report.
Water Breakthrough Challenge 3 encouraged initiatives designed to help tackle the biggest challenges facing the water sector, such as achieving net zero, protecting natural ecosystems and reducing leakage, as well as delivering value to society. Specific aims of the winning projects include preventing drought, managing water demand, boosting aquatic biodiversity, tackling leakage across England and Wales and slashing the environmental impact of wastewater.
It opened on 3 October 2022 with two streams of funding available for innovative initiatives which deliver benefits for customers, society and the environment. Catalyst closed on 8 December 2022 and Transform closed on 2 February 2023. Water companies (and their partners) could seek funding between £150,000 and £2 million per entry in the Catalyst stream and between £1 million and £10 million per entry in the Transform stream.
The judging panel convened in March 2023 for Catalyst and April 2023 for Transform to recommend which entries should receive funding, and the winners were announced on 15 May 2023.
The Water Discovery Challenge aimed to accelerate the discovery, development and adoption of promising innovations by the water sector, doing this by directly supporting organisations with innovative propositions and facilitating their engagement with water companies. Unlike Breakthrough, Discovery was aimed solely at innovators outside of water companies.
It opened on 25 January and closed on 5 April 2023 with twenty finalists being selected and awarded £50,000 each. The finalist stage ran from June to November 2023 with a five month package of support to help entrants further their innovations. In the finalist stage, entries sought funding of up to £450,000 per entry.
The judging panel convened in January 2024 to recommend which entries should receive funding, and the winners were announced on 20 February 2024.
Water Breakthrough Challenge 4 encouraged initiatives designed to help tackle the biggest challenges facing the water sector, such as achieving net zero, protecting natural ecosystems and reducing leakage, as well as delivering value to society.
It opened on 5 September 2023 and closed on 10 January 2024, with two streams of funding available for innovative initiatives which deliver benefits for customers, society and the environment. Water companies (and their partners) could seek funding between £150,000 and £2 million per entry in the Catalyst stream and between £2 million and £10 million per entry in the Transform stream.
The combined judging panel convened in March 2024 to recommend which entries should receive funding, and the winners were announced on 16 May 2024.
17 winning entries shared £40 million of funding.
Water Breakthrough Challenge 5 encouraged initiatives designed to help tackle the biggest challenges facing the water sector, such as achieving net zero, protecting natural ecosystems and reducing leakage, as well as delivering value to society.
It opened on 9 September 2024 and closed on 13 January 2025, with two streams of funding available for innovative initiatives which deliver benefits for customers, society and the environment. Water companies (and their partners) could seek funding between £150,000 and £2 million per entry in the Catalyst stream and between £2 million and £10 million per entry in the Transform stream.
The combined judging panel convened in April 2025 to recommend which entries should receive funding, and the winners were announced on 20 May 2025.
