OF
Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat)

Water Discovery Challenge

Pays up to £450,000 to outside innovators bringing new technology into UK water.

ClosedWater Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat)United Kingdom
Sign up free to see the funder page
About

Before advancing to the Winner stage, every Finalist goes back through the same eligibility screen a second time, rather than having their earlier pass carry over automatically. Development Plans are then reviewed on two parallel tracks at once: a formal Assessment against the four assessment criteria, and a separate Sector Review by representatives from regional water companies in England and Wal…

What this grant funds

Looking for early-stage innovations from organisations outside the water sector that could be developed and scaled by water companies in England and Wales. Entries are judged against four assessment criteria and shortlisted by a panel of sector reviewers drawn from regional water companies, with Ofwat making the final selection.

Key facts
CycleiHow often this grant runs - e.g. annually, on a rolling basis, or a one-off call.No fixed schedule
Next deadlineiThe next date applications are due. Rolling means you can apply any time.-
Decision timeiTypical time from the deadline to the funder's decision.-
Project durationiHow long the funded work is expected to run.-
Award typeiThe form of funding - grant, equity, loan, tax credit, etc.Grant
Match fundingiThe share of project costs you must cover yourself. 0% = fully funded.-
Funding pooliThe total budget available across all awards in this round.£7.5M
Funding analytics

Sign up free to see the funding breakdown

Create free accountSign in
Industries

Sign up free to see the industries in scope

Create free accountSign in
Eligibility criteria

Sign up free to see the full eligibility

Create free accountSign in
Application process

Sign up free to see how to apply

Create free accountSign in
Timeline

Sign up free to see the timeline

Create free accountSign in
Where founders trip up

Sign up free to see where teams trip up

Create free accountSign in
Guides

Guides for this application

All guides →
Find grants

Government Grants for Startups: What Deeptech Founders Should Know

A practical guide to government grants for startups, including Grants.gov, SBIR/STTR, state programs, eligibility, fit, timelines, and when to apply.

Write proposal

Grant Proposal Example: Sample Applications and What to Learn From Them

Learn how to use grant proposal examples, sample applications, and public funded proposals without copying weak structure or missing funder-specific rules.

Write proposal

Grant Technical Narrative Example: Scope, Milestones, and Evidence

See how a grant technical narrative can be structured, with a worked deeptech example, milestone table, evidence map, and weak vs strong wording.

More grants
BrowseGrants in the United KingdomClimate Tech grantsClimate Tech grants in the United KingdomCash grantsGrants of $250K to $1M

More from Ofwat

All grants from this funder →
OF
Open

Water Efficiency Lab 2 (WEL 2)

🇬🇧Ofwat · United Kingdom

Funds UK water-sector innovators tackling customer-side leakage with grants of £150,000 to £1.5 million.

Climate TechBuilt Environment
£150K – £1.5MOct'26
OF
Between cycles

Water Breakthrough Challenge 6

🇬🇧Ofwat · United Kingdom

Pays UK water companies between £150,000 and £10 million a year to develop bigger, bolder water-sector innovations.

Climate Tech
£150K – £10M
OF
Between cycles

Water Breakthrough Challenge 7

🇬🇧Ofwat · United Kingdom

Funds highly collaborative water-sector innovation projects led by an appointed English or Welsh water company, with up to £50 million available across the round.

Climate TechBuilt Environment
OF
Between cycles

Water Innovation Implementation Programme

🇬🇧Ofwat · United Kingdom

Funds water companies to move proven water-sector innovations from trial into routine practice at scale across England and Wales.

Climate TechBuilt Environment
£100K – £1M
OF
Closed

Water Breakthrough Challenge 5

🇬🇧Ofwat · United Kingdom

Paid UK water companies between £150,000 and £10 million to trial and scale big innovations across the water sector.

Climate Tech
£150K – £10M
OF
Closed

Water Discovery Challenge 2

🇬🇧Ofwat · United Kingdom

Funds early-stage water-sector innovations with staged seed funding for finalists and winners.

£550K

Similar grants

Browse the directory →
Innovate UK logo
Open

Eurostars Call 11 (UK)

🇬🇧Innovate UK · United Kingdom

Funds United Kingdom firms in multinational innovation consortia for export readiness.

AIBiotech+8
£360K
Innovate UK logo
Open

Ultra long duration energy storage project development studies

🇬🇧Innovate UK · United Kingdom

Fund the study that gets a 100-hour battery demonstrator ready to build.

Energy TechClimate Tech+1
£350K – £700KSep'26
HS
Open

Community and Environment Fund (CEF) and Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF)

🇬🇧HS2 · United Kingdom

Grants for not-for-profit projects addressing HS2 construction disruption

Built EnvironmentClimate Tech+1
£250KMar'35
UK Research and Innovation logo
Open

Transformative sustainable AI technologies

🇬🇧UKRI · United Kingdom

Funding for speculative, high-risk research on sustainable AI technologies.

AIHardware+2
£603KNov'26
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office logo
Open

GRTD (Discovery Seed)

🇬🇧FCDO · United Kingdom

Connects United Kingdom and global teams with GRTD innovation opportunities through active support and route guidance.

Climate TechEnergy Tech+3
WI
Closed

Water Discovery Challenge 2

🇬🇧Water Innovation Fund · United Kingdom

Awards UK-incorporated innovators up to £650,000 in total -- up to £100,000 as a Finalist, then up to £550,000 more as a Winner -- to develop and scale an innovation for the water sector in England and Wales.

Climate Tech
£650K