£400m for innovative water schemes to tackle pollution, leaks and climate change
Regulator Ofwat announced the doubling of funding for its Innovation Fund which has already funded concrete printing, pipebots and nature schemes.
Regulator Ofwat is doubling funding to £400 million for a scheme to support innovative projects that improve water supplies and help the environment.
The Ofwat Innovation Fund has already awarded cash to 93 collaborative projects, from developing “pipebots” – robots that spot cracks in pipes to curb pollution in rising mains – to encouraging people to install specially designed water butts to reduce heavy rain overwhelming sewers.
Other projects funded by the original £200 million fund, established in 2020, include creating a blueprint for restoring seagrass habitats, harnessing citizen science nature recording to assess the state of rivers, and tackling sewage sludge to remove “forever chemicals”.
Now, the regulator is extending and doubling the original fund to £400 million up to 2030, for water firms to work with other partners including companies, local authorities and conservation groups to develop and deploy solutions to the challenges faced by the sector.
The announcement comes amid intense scrutiny of the water sector – and regulators – over the degraded state of rivers, lakes and coasts, rising bills, shareholder dividends and executive bonuses.
Ofwat ruled in December that water companies could raise bills by 36% on average, before inflation, over the next five years to pay for a £104 billion upgrade to the sector, including new reservoirs and action to curb sewage pollution and protect the environment.
The settlement includes the £400 million for the innovation fund, which Ofwat says will cost each household in England and Wales about £2.13 a year between 2025 and 2030.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has highlighted the fund as one of the promising ways regulators can help drive growth.
Helen Campbell, senior director for sector performance at Ofwat, said: “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.
“Our £400 million commitment to continued investment in innovation will support highly collaborative projects to develop and deploy solutions to these enormous challenges.
“While the first five years championed nascent technologies and new approaches to demonstrate their future potential, the next five years must see them scale and deliver a lasting and beneficial impact for customers, society and the environment.”
Natalie Wadley, chief executive of ChangeMaker 3D, which secured money for a project with partners developing 3D concrete printing of infrastructure and assets, said the funding was “game-changing” for the business and the development of “Printfrastructure” to help the water sector.
She added: “This project has truly delivered several UK firsts, pushed all of the technology boundaries and demonstrated how we can return tangible value to water customers.”
The Ofwat Innovation Fund will be delivered by innovation prize experts Challenge Works in collaboration with design and engineering company Arup and innovation consultancy Isle Utilities.
