His Excellency Engineer Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen AlFadley, the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture of Saudi Arabia, bestowed honors upon the recipients of the prestigious Global Prize for Innovation in Desalination on Saturday. Among these distinguished individuals, Syed Shah from Aqua Membranes, USA, was awarded the grand prize for his groundbreaking project entitled “Revolutionizing Reverse Osmosis through 3-D Printed Spacers.”
Additionally, five other exceptional winners were recognized, all of whom delivered presentations before the grand prize announcement. Furthermore, the ceremony included the distribution of special prizes. This momentous occasion took place in the presence of His Excellency Engineer Abdullah Ibrahim AlAbdulkariem, the governor of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), along with esteemed officials and notable dignitaries. The event was held during the second edition of the Innovation in the Desalination Industry Conference, which transpired from September 30 to October 3, 2023, at the illustrious Jeddah Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
The remaining recipients of the Global Prize for Innovation in Desalination are as follows: Arian Edalat from Active Membranes, USA, for the project “Next Generation of Desalination Membranes”; Quantum Wei from Harmony Desalting, USA, for the project “Batch Reverse Osmosis”; Nick Heineman from Desolenator, the Netherlands, for the project “Desolenator: Pioneering a World-First Solar-Thermal Desalination Solution at Scale”; Hany Said from Mega Vessels Water Inc., USA, for the “Mega Vessel” project; and Mohamed Anwar from Schneider Electric, France, for the project “Desalination Plant Digital Twin Powered by Dynamic Process Simulation.”
These esteemed winners were chosen from a competitive pool of 105 participants representing twenty-seven countries, including innovators from research institutions, universities, entrepreneurs, and professionals employed in the global water desalination industry.
H.E. Eng. AlFadley expressed gratitude for the support provided by the visionary leadership in the water sector and extended his heartfelt congratulations to the winners for their exceptional accomplishments, which contributed to the resounding success of the inaugural edition of this prestigious prize. The minister emphasized the prizes’ alignment with the comprehensive water strategy, which integrates prevailing trends, policies, legislation, and practices within the water sector.
H.E. Eng. AlAbdulkariem commended the participants of the award competition and reaffirmed SWCC’s unwavering commitment to the sustainability of water resources. The governor highlighted the corporation’s prominent position as the world’s largest water producer, delivering a staggering 11.5 million cubic meters per day. He underscored the significance of collaboration, technical knowledge exchange, innovation, research and development, and prioritizing funding for pivotal projects to ensure the sustainability of water resources and enhance global access.
The awarded innovations were recognized as exemplifying achievements that benefit humanity and reflect SWCC’s vision of conforming to international standards and innovative technology.
With a total value of $10 million, the prizes specifically focused on environmental aspects of the desalination industry, energy consumption reduction, cost efficiency, innovative technology utilization, business model transformation, and future analytical studies pertaining to innovation.
The announcement of these awards aligned seamlessly with SWCC’s staunch support for this initiative, as well as its encouragement for both national and international companies to partake, particularly in the construction of large-scale desalination plants.