Com o Ofwat Innovation Fund dobrando para £400 milhões e estendendo-se até 2030, as oportunidades para soluções transformadoras no setor de água são maiores do que nunca.
De robôs de inspeção de tubulações a prados submarinos
From Pipe Inspection Robots to Underwater Meadows:
Isle’s Caroline Wadsworth on the Future of the Ofwat Innovation Fund
Earlier this week, Ofwat announced that the Ofwat Innovation Fund would be doubled and continue until 2030 – with Isle named as a delivery partner alongside Challenge Works and Arup for the design and delivery of the core Ofwat Innovation Fund. In addition, Isle will lead the design and delivery of a new Implementation Programme, also in partnership with Arup and Challenge Works. Our Comms team had a chance to catch up with Caroline Wadsworth, Director of Innovation Partnerships at Isle Utilities, to hear her thoughts on the news.
Isle Comms: Caroline, we’ve just had the good news that Isle will be delivering the Ofwat Innovation Fund until 2030. How exciting! How are you feeling about it?
Caroline: Thank you! Yes, it’s such great news and has been a fantastic start to 2025. Ofwat’s doubling of the fund to £400 million means there is huge potential to develop and scale innovative solutions that will help to secure a resilient water future for all of us. We’ve seen some amazing ideas developed over the last five years, and now we’ll see those concepts taken even further with the new implementation programme — whether that’s improving leak detection, tackling storm overflows, or even adding some innovation sparkle into the way we manage wastewater.
Isle Comms: Isle has been involved with the Ofwat Innovation Fund as delivery partner since the beginning. What has been the most rewarding part of the journey so far?
Caroline: Knowing we’re making a real difference and seeing ideas turn into real solutions. Take the pipebots, for example. A few years ago they were an ambitious concept. Now, they’re detecting cracks in pipes that humans are just not able to reach. Or 3D-printed water infrastructure. It’s cutting carbon as well as cost — and time. These solutions aren’t just research exercises, they’re really changing the way the water sector operates.
Isle Comms: That’s incredible. So what sorts of innovations do you think you might see with the extra funding?
Caroline: The Ofwat Innovation Fund looks for ambitious solutions that don’t just work in theory but can be implemented at scale. Our future — and current — challenges in the water industry revolve around three key areas: climate resilience, pollution reduction, and operational efficiency. The expanded fund not only supports large scale, transformative solutions, it also opens up new funding streams to help promising innovations get off the ground faster, and encourage collaboration across industries.
Isle Comms: Collaboration seems to be a big theme. Why is that so important?
Caroline: The challenges facing water are just not something one company can solve alone. We need water companies, tech startups, universities, environmental groups — even sectors outside of water — to bring fresh perspectives, ideas and ways of working. Some of the best solutions the Ofwat Innovation Fund has seen have come from these sorts of partnerships. We’ve also got to acknowledge the role and responsibility that organisations and individuals that use, impact and rely on water have, and recognise that water companies alone can’t, and shouldn’t, be the only ones working to solve some of the challenges.
Isle Comms: Speaking of partnerships, Isle already works with tech startups on innovation projects. How do you disassociate yourself from those solutions when working on the Ofwat Innovation Fund? Is this not something of a conflict of interest?
Caroline: Yes, you’re absolutely right and we recognise the potential for conflicts of interest. We have been very careful to put rigorous safeguards in place to maintain transparency and impartiality and create an ‘ethical wall’ within the company. One way that we do this is through our conflict of interest register, where all potential conflicts are recorded and monitored. We also have strict internal guidelines as to who within Isle can act as an assessor for the fund and each assessor is carefully selected based on expertise and potential for conflicts. As a company, we’ve committed to not be involved in any projects destined for the Ofwat Innovation Fund pre-award to ensure we can remain fully independent and ensure a clear separation and integrity in the decision-making process. The technical assessment is only the first stage in the selection process, so to add further rigour and perspectives, shortlisted entries are then reviewed by a panel of external judges prior to the recommended list of projects for funding officially going to Ofwat.
Isle Comms: That’s really good to hear. So, what advice would you give to potential applicants?
Caroline: Think big and think ambitious! The fund encourages submissions from entrants that have bold, ambitious and risky ideas that without the intervention of the fund would be unlikely to get funding to get off the ground – and that certainly wouldn’t be delivered as part of business as usual. We want entries that have the potential to make a significant positive impact for customers, society and the environment. Some of these ideas will be at a very early stage, which is great. Ultimately though, we want the ideas to develop into implementable, scalable solutions so an understanding of how you might do this is crucial. Of course, this will need effective dissemination of learning – even if the project doesn’t deliver fully against all the initial objectives – failing forwards, learning quickly and sharing those findings to allow others to benefit and accelerate the innovation cycle and avoid duplication and unnecessary delays. And to hark back to what I said about partnerships earlier – they are key! Bringing together the right mix of expertise can make such a difference. And finally: don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo.
Isle Comms: Last, can I ask what the most surprising innovation is that you’ve come across through the fund?
Caroline: Absolutely. I don’t know if ‘surprising’ is the right word, but one solution that really stands out is the seagrass restoration project. Many people know how vital wildflower meadows are for biodiversity on land, but fewer realise the immense value of underwater meadows. Just like on land, where we’ve lost around 98% of wildflower meadows, the UK has lost up to 92% of its seagrass meadows, which are so important for marine biodiversity and have huge potential to store carbon and protect shorelines from storm surges. So it’s a nature-based solution with multiple environmental benefits.
Isle Comms: Exciting times ahead! We can’t wait to see what innovations are funded over the next few years.
Caroline: Absolutely. Looking forward to seeing what comes next!