Water innovation competition kicks off

The much anticipated innovation competition from Ofwat begins today (18 January) with the £2 million Innovation in Water Challenge.

The first round of the ‘Dragon’s Den style’ contest is designed to encourage participation from the supply chain and smaller research and development or innovation companies.

The competition is part of the £200 million fund the regulator created as part of PR19.

Run by Ofwat, together with Nesta Challenges, Arup and Isle Utilities, the competition will promote collaborative problem solving for shared challenges faced by the water sector, now and in the future.

It aims to encourage innovative ideas that water companies would otherwise be unable to invest in or explore by working with partners inside and outside the sector. Each wining partnership will receive between £50,000 and £250,000 to support their initiative.

John Russell, senior director at Ofwat said: “We strongly believe in the power of partnerships and collaboration in bringing about more innovation that will help deliver better outcomes for customers, society and the environment.

“We are now at a pivotal point in the sector’s future and we’re excited to open up the door to innovation and new ideas from both within and outside the sector. This is just the first of a series of competitions we’ll be running as part of our Innovation Fund to deliver long term transformational change for the water sector.”

Chris Gorst, a director at Nesta Challenges, which is coordinating the competition, said the fund is keen to see collaborations and bold ideas.

“We’re open to all kinds of entries – from technology, methodologies and approaches, business practices, commercial models and other budding ideas – and we know the best ideas can often come from the most unlikely places, so we hope to see a range of partnerships from both within and outside the sector.”

The deadline for entries is 26 February and the first round of the main fund will begin in the spring.