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The Water Innovation Fund is opening its doors to innovators from outside the water sector to enter bold solutions to the urgent challenges facing the industry in England and Wales, as it announces the return of the £7.5m Water Discovery Challenge.
Water Discovery Challenge in 2023, Ofwat’s Water Innovation Fund will accelerate the development and adoption of promising new innovations for the water sector the environment and the economy. In particular, it is inviting ideas from
innovators across multiple sectors and disciplines – including energy, cities and transport, construction, agriculture and farming, as well as AI, digital, data and internet of things. The challenge is run by innovation
prize experts Challenge Works, part of Nesta, in partnership with Arup and Isle Utilities. It is open to innovators from outside the water sector and around the world, to bring in fresh thinking and ideas with the purpose of helping entrants break into the water industry. The water sector faces many
challenges that must be solved – achieving net zero emissions, preventing leaks, ending the overuse of storm nature and adapting to the impact of climate change – all whilst ensuring that customers are properly served. The second Water Discovery Challenge opened on 20 January and closes on 8 April 2026. There is no requirement for organisations to partner or receive sponsorship from a water company to enter, but entrants must be a UK registered entity. Twenty successful entries will be
2026, receiving up to £100,000 in seed support and sector mentorship to develop their solutions. Ten winning teams will go on to be
awarded up to £550,000 in funding in April 2027 to further develop their sector mentorship, to maximise the chance of the innovations launching and succeeding in the water sector. Dr Jo Jolly, Director of Environment and Innovation, Ofwat, said: “The Water
Innovation Fund supports bold, scalable challenges. Breakthrough technologies can make a real difference, but the sector can be hard to access for new community of innovators raring to make a difference. Whether its improving services to customers, helping build water secure communities, improving water quality or something else entirely, forward to deliver transformational the environment - and act as an engine for economic growth and a people - and nature-positive future.” 10 winners in February 2024. Winners include Waterwhelm, which developed a breakthrough water re-use and desalination technology that operates using waste heat at wastewater treatment works and other industrial sites to produce freshwater for the sites own use while achieving a world-beating reduction in electricity consumption and
Waterwhelm partnered with AtkinsRéalis Water Division to identify where the technology could be deployed for water re-use across wastewater treatment works in England and Wales. As a result, it is now a central
component of the Net Water PostiHyve project, led by Northumbrian Water, which was awarded £2m by the Water Breakthrough Challenge in May 2025. The project is scaling up the new technology to increase recycled water for industrial consumption,
sustainably produced using waste heat and wastewater, addressing increasing industrial freshwater demands, including for hydrogen production. Dr Alireza Abbassi Monjezi, CEO &
Founder, Waterwhelm, a previous winner of the Water Discovery Challenge, said:“The Water Discovery Challenge gave us access to funding and expert industry support to help us implement our technology for water reuse and desalination. Taking part raised our important connections in the water sector that have been invaluable as we scale. Two years since taking part, we are now working with Northumbrian and AtkinsRéalis to demonstrate our technology at 740m³ per day in a live environment, transforming the sustainability of water used by industry.” Coinciding with the launch of the
Water Discovery Challenge, the Water Innovation Fund is sponsoring the Resilience & Innovation for the Built January to 10 April 2026. The 11-week event will explore
innovations and solutions shaping the future of water in architecture, engineering and urban design. It showcases cutting-edge technologies, pioneering projects and ideas that are driving a new, water-wise approach to building for resilience and sustainability – including those that have been enabled and supported by the Water Innovation Fund.
Water Discovery Challenge visit
waterinnovation.challenges.org
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