Key Features
The water sector in England and Wales is at risk of falling short of its long-term goals for water efficiency. The Water Efficiency Lab (WEL) is a new challenge-led competition to attract the most innovative solutions to specific water efficiency challenges and unlock progress on water efficient technology, processes and approaches.
Programme: Ofwat
Award: Share of up to £5 million
Opens: 25th Nov 2025
Closes: 10th Mar 2026
The Water Efficiency Lab is a new challenge-led competition to attract innovative solutions to specific water efficiency challenges.
To meet the urgent water shortfalls in England and Wales the Environment Agency is mandating a strategic goal that almost two-thirds of the required capacity must come from reductions in demand via the rollout of smart water meters and targeted interventions.
The first round of the WEL will be a single-stage competition, with a single stage assessment. The entry period will be 35 months and launches on 25th November 2025. Entries must be submitted by 10th March 2026 with the winners announced in mid-June 2026.
The WEL challenge is open to innovators e.g. water companies, behavioural science firms, tech companies, software developers, hardware manufacturers, consultants, non-profit organisations and universities.
The key eligibility factors are:
Up to £5 million in grant funding has been allocated for the first round of the WEL. The amount awarded will depend on the entries received and the quantity, quality and amounts requested for individual projects.
Individual entries can request between £150,000 and £1.5 million. Entries requesting between £100,00 and £150,000 are also eligible to enter provided they are digital-led and completed within 12 months.
Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.
Call 
Back
