Ofwat Innovation Fund
To grow the water sector’s capacity to innovate, Ofwat has established an Innovation Fund. This will help in managing the needs of our customers, society, and environment. Between 2020-25 the fund has provided £200 million of investment. For 2025-30 it will increase to £400 million and £100 million Water Efficiency Fund created.
The fund supports water company initiatives and projects that show bold new approaches to innovation. We've detailed some of the highlights from our projects as part of this:
Total project value
£27.8 million
Number of industry partners involved
35
Total Ofwat project funding
£24.9 million
Ofwat Innovation funded projects
You can find out more about the Ofwat Innovation Fund projects we're leading:
Community centric rainwater
The project aimed to help ‘slow the flow’ of rainwater entering sewers.
Pipebots for rising mains
We're working on preventing bursts and protecting the environment.
Unlocking digital twins
We've worked on establishing industry-wide data standards and tools for digital twins.
Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment (AWT)
We're transforming the energy balance of wastewater treatment.
Sub-seasonal weather forecasting
We've improved weather forecasting to help predict business impact.
No-dig leak repair
We're developing a groundbreaking "no-dig" repair technology to tackle leaking water mains.
Sewage sludge pyrolysis
We're working to deliver the UK's first continuously operating, sludge-fed pyrolysis demonstration plant.
SUDS through street works
We're incentivising street works to install sustainable drainage systems (SUDS) for flood mitigation.
SandSCAPE project
We're using robots to clean slow sand filters to help improve water purification.