How to Enter

On this page:

• Eligibility Criteria
• Funding amounts
• Match funding requirements
• Intellectual Property Rights
• Submit your Entry

Eligibility Criteria

WEL 1 is seeking to fund a diverse portfolio of solutions that meet the Challenge Statement, from a range of different innovators and organisations, including, for example, water companies (including wholesalers, NAVs and water retailers), behavioural science firms, tech companies, software developers, hardware manufacturers, consultancies, non-profit organisations and universities. 

For your organisation or partnership to be eligible to enter WEL 1, you must meet the eligibility criteria: 

• The lead entrant must be a UK-incorporated entity (e.g. private limited companies, non-profits, charities, universities). We will not accept applications from individuals or unincorporated groups.  
• The lead entrant must hold a UK business bank account upon entry     
• You must agree to comply with our Terms and Conditions     
• Entrants must not have conflicts of interest that would rule out participation. See the Terms and Conditions for more information. 

We welcome applications from a consortium of partners, whether already-existing partnerships or partnerships formed during the entry period. However, one organisation must be nominated as the lead entrant to submit the application. The lead entrant will be the organisation that enters into contracts and receives funding.  

Further to meeting the above eligibility criteria, other entrant considerations are as follows: 

• Entrants will be subject to due diligence checks and must pass due diligence checks in order to receive funding. We may ask you to provide additional information to support these checks. 
• You must own or have full permission to use and share all intellectual property (IP) rights necessary to build, test, and launch the solution you submit to the WEL 1. 

Funding amounts 

Individual entries will be able to request between £150,000 and £1.5 million. Entries requesting between £100,000 and £150,000 are also eligible to enter provided that they are digital-led and will complete within 12 months.    

We therefore expect to receive entries into the competition with a total financial cost of from £166,667 to approximately £1.667 million, inclusive of the 10% mandatory contribution (see Match funding requirements below). 

The total funding available for WEL 1 is up to £5 million. The independent judging panel will seek to recommend a balanced portfolio of entries to receive funding, and the actual amount awarded will depend on the entries received and the quantity, quality and amounts requested by individual projects.     

Match funding requirements 

A maximum of 90% of each entry’s total costs will be provided by funding from WEL 1. Entry partners must provide the remaining 10% of the entry’s total costs as a mandatory 10% contribution. 

The requirements for this 10% match contribution depend on the type of entrant: 

• Contributions from wholesaler water companies, including New Appointees or NAVS, for the mandatory 10% must be financial. 
• Financial or in-kind contributions are allowable from non-water companies, including water retailers, SMEs, universities and charities. 
• For entries involving multiple partners, the 10% mandatory contribution may be made up of contributions from any of the consortium members, provided the total 10% is met and the financial-only requirement for wholesaler water companies is respected. 
• Your mandatory 10% match contribution must not be funded by charges to water customers in England and Wales. This ensures that customers don’t bear the full risk of innovations funded through the WEL and encourages strong project management. 

In-kind contributions are non-cash resources that are essential for the project’s delivery and have a measurable monetary value. Allowable contributions must be auditable, valued at the true market rate, and directly support the entry’s objectives. 

Example in-kind contributions include staff time (salary plus on-costs), asset or facility use (based on rental value), and donated services (valued at market rate). 

We welcome and encourage any commitment that exceeds the minimum 10% contribution. This can be in the form of additional financial (cash) or additional in-kind contributions. Wholesaler water companies and NAVs are welcome and encouraged to provide in-kind contributions that are additional to the minimum 10% contribution. 

Update 27 January 2026

Please see the Networking event section for an update published clarifying the mandatory contribution requirements. This includes a set of example scenarios for how the mandatory contribution could be met.

Intellectual Property Rights 

Winners of the WEL will retain full ownership of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) with no requirements to provide royalty-free licences.

Submit your entry

All entries should be made online, which can be accessed through the Submittable form. Entries to WEL 1 closed on 10 March 2026 at 1 pm

Submit your entry

The entry form must be completed by the lead entrant organisation.

It features:

• Questions about your organisation and partnership (if applicable), so we know who you are and can check you are eligible;
• Questions about your solution, which will be assessed against the assessment criteria.

A copy of the entry form is available to download on the Key Materials page to help you develop and collaborate on your entry prior to the deadline, but entries must be made through the online Submittable form.

Entries seeking £500,000 or more in funding will be asked to provide a greater level of evidence against the assessment criteria, commensurate with the amount of funding requested. This will be reflected in the word counts and question guidance provided. All entries will be assessed against the same assessment criteria.

To access the entry form and submit an entry you will need to set up a Submittable account. Once you have started an entry you can save a draft and return to it at a later date to complete. Submittable is a third-party platform. For more information on Submittable see our Terms and Conditions and the Submittable privacy policy.

Before submitting your entry, please ensure that:

• You have read and understood the Water Efficiency Lab Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy;
• Your team meets the Eligibility Criteria;
• Your entry is aligned with the Challenge Statement and assessment criteria.

The WEL 1 entry period is from 25 November 2025 to 10 March 2026. Before submitting an entry, please read the Entrant Handbook, FAQs and T&Cs.

Explore the key materials