The Water Breakthrough Challenge 3 (Breakthrough 3) will launch on 3 October 2022 and will retain the two streams from Breakthrough 2:
The £8 million Catalyst Stream will allow entries seeking between £500,000 and £2 million. Entries will open at 12 noon BST on Monday 3 October 2022, and close at .
The £30 million Transform Stream will allow entries seeking between £2-10 million (with Ofwat exploring the option to allow bids over £10 million). Stage 1 entries will open at 12 noon BST on Monday 3 October 2022, and close at.
Both streams maintain a requirement for 10% financial contribution, and require lead entrants to be a water company in England or Wales, however lead entrants to the Catalyst stream will be able to devolve project management responsibilities (including drafting the entry) to their partners.
Following a trial in the Catalyst stream of Breakthrough 2, background intellectual property rights (IPR) for entries to either stream can now be licensed, however any foreground IPR developed through the competition must be shared with water companies in England and Wales.
We will be publishing more detail on how both streams will run when entries open.
New open access competition
Following overwhelming support in the consultation, the new open access competition will launch in early 2023. Unlike the Water Breakthrough Challenge, there will be no requirement for organisations to partner or receive sponsorship from a water company to enter the competition.
It will primarily target early-stage innovation, allocating approximately £4 million in funding annually, with up to £500,000 available for individual entries, and there will be no mandatory 10% financial contribution, or requirement to license IPR.
As with other entrants to the Innovation Fund, entries to the new open access competition will need to align with one or more of Ofwat’s four innovation themes.
We will be publishing more detail on how this new competition will run, including an overview of the entry process, timings and eligibility criteria in autumn 2022.
Adapted innovation themes
Since the Fund’s launch, entries have had to align with one or more of Ofwat’s innovation themes, which are intended to highlight key areas where innovative thinking is needed in the water sector. Following feedback during the pilot period, Ofwat have revised these themes to more closely align with the 2050 water innovation strategy and the UK Government’s updated priorities for Ofwat:
- Adapting to climate change and achieving net zero emissions
- Protecting and enhancing the environment
- Delivering long-term operational resilience
- Improving the delivery of services for customers and society