The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative is a 5-year global competition set to drive a step change in desalination technologies – reimagining systems, methods, and materials. It will facilitate the widespread use of desalination in a way that promotes greater socio-economic equity and environmental sustainability. Candidates will be required to build several pilot desalination units and an industrial demonstration unit.
Under this MoU, TAQA’s power and water generation business is combining with SUEZ and Siemens to form an international team with plans to develop and prove an innovative and cost-effective desalination technology. The project aims to develop a cutting-edge step forward for a sustainable solution that optimises energy consumption while ensuring affordability, allowing more countries to benefit from desalination solutions.
This MoU demonstrates the commitment of these three companies to foster strong international partnerships and collaboration. By combining their respective high-level expertise, the three partners
aim to provide concrete answers to water-related challenges in the regions most affected by water scarcity, while contributing to their sustainable development.
SUEZ will provide its R&D expertise. The Group draws on 50 years of experience in seawater desalination, with more than 260 plants built around the world, and has 30 references in the Middle East. In Australia, the Victoria State desalination plant, built and operated by SUEZ, is the largest in the southern hemisphere. In Jordan, SUEZ is part of the Consortium, led by Meridiam, selected as preferred bidder to design, build and operate on a long-term basis one of the world’s largest reverse osmosis desalination plants.
As one of the major players in the desalination space and the largest producer of desalinated water in the UAE, with a capacity of more than 1,250 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD), TAQA’s power and water generation business is one of the most experienced potable water providers operating in one of the world’s most water-stressed regions. The company also owns a stake in Taweelah Reverse Osmosis Independent Water Plant, one of the world’s largest reverse osmosis plants in operation with a capacity of 200 MIGD.
Farid Al Awlaqi, Chief Executive Officer, Generation at TAQA, said: “We must address the global water scarcity crisis by collaborating with companies and organizations and fast-tracking innovative solutions to address these issues faced by too many people and communities across the globe. As the largest producer of desalinated water in the UAE, TAQA is committed to producing and delivering potable water that is as energy-efficient as possible by adopting innovative desalination technologies combined with cleaner energy sources. We are delighted to join forces with SUEZ and Siemens, international leaders in the water and energy sectors, to compete for this prize.”
Siemens provides the technologies, the expertise and industry-knowledge to develop the right answers for the transformation of the water industry. Through a broad and proven portfolio of digital technologies, desalination plant operators are able to optimize their operations, streamline their plant design and commissioning, as well as increase performance for both new and existing facilities.