The Ofwat Innovation Fund will double to £400m to support projects that could transform the water sector.
Established in 2020, the original £200m fund has been awarded to projects which see water companies working with innovators to develop solutions to the water sector’s biggest challenges.
The announcement will extend the fund for a further five years to 2030.
The fund will be delivered by Nesta enterprise Challenge Works in collaboration with Arup and Isle Utilities.
Regulator Ofwat says that the water sector must innovate to continue improving services for customers, provide value and meet the high standards that the public demands.
It has also described the need to transform its environmental impact whilst encouraging growth; end the overuse of storm overflows; cut greenhouse gas emissions; and reduce leaks as ‘crucial’.
“There’s no question that the water sector faces many urgent challenges – reaching net zero emissions, ending the overuse of storm overflows, preventing leaks, and adapting to the impact of climate change – all while ensuring customers are properly served and enabling economic growth,” said Helen Campbell, senior director for sector performance at Ofwat.
“Our £400m commitment to continued investment in innovation will support highly collaborative projects to develop and deploy solutions to these enormous challenges.”
Natalie Wadley, CEO of ChangeMaker 3D, a partner in Water Breakthrough Challenge 3 winning project, Water Industry Printfrastrucuture, added: “The Ofwat funding has quite simply been game changing for both our company and the development of Printfrastructure as a positive impact for the UK water sector.
“The funding has unlocked new jobs for our business, five new products, a patented design and a significant opportunity to add value in the next five years.”
The fund has so far supported 93 projects involving more than 240 partners, including water companies, universities, environmental charities, local governments and civil society organisations.
The funding for the next five years will see further annual Water Breakthrough Challengesand at least two more Water Discovery Challenges.
It will also introduce three new funding streams to support the implementation and scaling of successful innovations, solutions which require collaboration across the sector and challenges across other sectors.