Abu Dhabi - Today marks the start of the operational stage
of Masdar’s pilot programme in Ghantoot, Abu Dhabi, which will see 1,500 m3/day
of potable water produced over the next 15 months using four unique technologies
that will demonstrate commercially-viable and energy efficient solutions for
renewable-powered desalination.
After launching the programme in 2013,
Masdar partnered with four global industry leaders - Abengoa, Suez, Sidem
(Veolia) and Trevi Systems – to implement the most advanced and innovative
technologies in desalination as a key step to achieving water security and
reducing energy consumption in the sector.
"Recognizing the critical link
between water and energy, Abu Dhabi, through Masdar, is investing in advancing
cutting-edge, technologies to improve the efficiency and to reduce the
environmental impact of desalination processes in the UAE, and ultimately
across the globe. With a rapidly growing population and economy, the UAE
leadership recognizes that water is a precious and crucial resource in ensuring
our sustained economic and social growth. Developing innovative technologies
that can sustainably source clean water is vital, not only for the UAE, but for
the Gulf and many other regions of the world. With this program, the UAE is
actively and responsibly addressing the challenges of water conservation,
management and security," said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State
and Chairman of Masdar.
Masdar is facilitating real market
opportunities for clean-tech solutions that are commercially viable, energy
efficient and cost effective via the innovations being tested in this unique
programme. Desalination is the major source of potable water in this region but
traditional desalination techniques are energy intensive, costly and not
sustainable in the long-term.
"It is especially fitting for us
to launch this programme during Innovation Week. Masdar is currently advancing
development in five of the seven sectors identified in the National Innovation
Strategy, and in this project, directly addressing two critical issues – water
and energy. This programme exemplifies the whole mandate of this strategy and
it is on-the-ground, tangible innovation that will lead to commercial solutions
that can be rolled out locally, regionally and globally. It really has the
potential to be a game changer for the desalination industry," highlighted
Dr Ahmad Belhoul, CEO of Masdar. "The project also demonstrates how
multi-stakeholder partnerships combining government and public institutions,
R&D, academia and corporations can drive innovations to solve critical
global challenges. At Masdar, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of
technology – to improve existing methods or find new solutions that will be more
effective, more efficient and more affordable."
In the UAE, seawater desalination
requires ten times more energy than surface fresh water production and demand
for fresh water is projected to grow by 30% in the UAE by 2030. Outside of the
UAE, the issues of global water scarcity, droughts and water pollution have
become acute risks in many regions of the world. The technologies developed
through these projects have the potential to be scaled up and exported to
address sustainable access to water around the world. The project goes beyond
traditional R&D and is considered RDT – Research and Development
Transformation – allowing new technologies to be developed faster leading to
accelerated adoption and implementation by utility service providers.
The projects are targeted to
dramatically reduce – by up to 40 per cent – the energy intensity of
desalination. Due to this low energy consumption, an estimated annual cost
savings of US$94 million is expected from 2020 onwards, if 15% of Abu Dhabi’s
newly built desalination capacity is met by the implementation of the
demonstrated energy efficient technologies.
Masdar is rapidly extending its water
leadership by partnering with the key players in the global desalination
industry, as well as entrepreneurial newcomers. These partners were chosen in a
competitive process launched in 2013. Each partner designed, engineered,
constructed and began operating a separate desalination plant. This first stage
of the operational portion of the programme concentrates on demonstrating energy-efficient
systems on a small scale for at least 18 months. The technologies used in the
programme have passed research, lab testing, modeling and prototyping but have
not been used on a utility scale anywhere else in the world.
The four plants have been constructed
on the site of a decommissioned desalination plant in Ghantoot, Abu Dhabi
Emirate. The Ghantoot site was chosen because of its accessibility to deep
seawater. Two categories of seawater desalination technologies are included in
the programme: advanced seawater desalination technologies – based on
commercially proven systems that are being adapted to lower specific energy
consumption; and innovative seawater desalination technologies – new-to-market
concepts.
Carlos Cosin, Chief Executive Officer
of Abengoa’s water division, attending the inauguration stated, "We are
committed to solving water scarcity problems in the Middle East and for this
reason we are mobilizing our efforts in the direction of developing innovative
technologies so that the earth’s inhabitants have access to quality
water."
John Webley, CEO of Trevi Systems, also
attending the event noted, "This installation marks an important milestone
in the development and deployment of Forward Osmosis technology, which will
enable renewable desalination to be deployed in the Gulf and elsewhere. Without
the steadfast and financial support of Masdar it would not have been possible
for a small company such as Trevi to gain acceptance of our technology."
Although unable to attend the event, Jean-Louis
Chaussade, CEO of SUEZ said, "SUEZ is proud to play an active role in the
Masdar Seawater Desalination Programme and to contribute to Masdar's ambitious
initiatives for renewable energy. By doing so, SUEZ demonstrates its commitment
to identify and develop global solutions for the sustainable management of
resources, a key issue, especially in the region."
The pilot projects expect to lower
energy consumption to less than 3.6kWh/m3 of energy for reverse osmosis plants,
at a seawater salinity of 42,000 milligrams per liter. Energy consumption is
proportional to the salinity of the water, and the salinity in the gulf region
is extremely high.
During this first ‘reliability test’
phase (about 9 months) of stage one, the four plants will operate on a continuous
basis in order to demonstrate continuous high-efficiency and reliable
performance of these new technologies. The second phase of the programme, the optimization
phase, (about 6 months) has a more experimental character, and the partners can
adapt and improve the plants to further innovate on their technology.
Partnership is also increasing
knowledge transfer among project participants. R&D projects being
coordinated with Masdar Institute are also enabling hands-on engagement of the
students with the international partners for studies in such areas as membrane
distillation, capacitive de-ionization and cutting-edge forward osmosis.
"Masdar Institute is pleased to
have leveraged its expertise in sustainable technologies towards the
inauguration of this landmark project. The water and energy nexus is at the
core of our research agenda, and by working to make the UAE’s production of
fresh water more sustainable, we are pursuing contributing to the long-term
welfare and sustainability of the UAE," said Dr. Behjat Al Yousuf, Interim
Provost at the Masdar Institute.
Through the pilot programme, Masdar is
bridging the gap between advanced R&D, providing commercially viable
solutions that can be implemented globally. The second stage of the programme
envisages large-scale deployment and implementation of one or more of these
energy-efficient desalination technologies in the UAE and potentially across
the MENA region and in other global locations.
Masdar was pleased to host at the
event: Suhail Al Mazroui, UAE Minister of Energy; Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE
Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar; Razan Al Mubarak, Secretary-General
of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD); Faris Obaid Al Dhaheri, Director
General of the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority; The Ambassador of
France to the UAE, Michel Miraillet; as well as CEOs and senior representatives
of the partner companies, other distinguished guests and media.
