£2m competition to help water industry reach net-zero

The £2m Innovation in Water Challenge (IWC) competition has opened for entries in a bid to help tackle the biggest challenges facing the water industry. 

Run by the water regulator Ofwat, the IWC is looking for collaborative initiatives that address challenges such as reaching net-zero, protecting natural ecosystems from pollution and delivering better value for money for customers in England and Wales.

The IWC is the first of two competitions being run this year within Ofwat’s £200m Innovation Fund. It is part of the regulator’s goal to create a collaborative water sector that is well-placed to meet the needs of customers, society and the environment for years to come.

Entries must be submitted by water companies from England and Wales together with their partner organisations. Each winning partnership will receive between £50,000 and £250,000 to support their initiatives. The deadline for entries is 12 pm on February 26.

John Russell, Senior Director at Ofwat commented: ‘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, director of Challenges at Nesta Challenges added: ‘The water sector is currently facing the most defining challenges of our era – from climate change to building long-term resilience against the effects of extreme weather and meeting the evolving needs of society. Innovation and collaboration are going to be key in meeting these challenges and we look forward to seeing bold ideas from entrants over the coming weeks.

‘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.’

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