Muscat – Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC) has announced the opening of registration for this year’s Oman Humanitarian Desalination Challenge Prize Competition.

The competition is a global water prize that looks to award US$700,000 to the person or team that can invent a small, cheap and easy to use desalination device that would enable people in emergency situations to single handedly purify salty or contaminated water to a safe drinking standard.

The latest announcement comes after MEDRC has completed the screening process for all the 2020-2021 entries and officially declared that no winning device was found.

A joint initiative led by MEDRC and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the Oman Humanitarian Desalination Challenge Prize Competition was first launched in 2018 in Muscat. This is the third time the competition has been opened to competitors. Competitors may be individuals, companies, academic institutions, nonprofits and others.

The complexity of the challenge and the enormity of the cash prize has helped attract global attention. MEDRC reports that 48 registrations were received in 2020 from 20 countries. Competitor backgrounds were notably diverse, with leading water research entities, commercial organisations, entrepreneurs and individual problem solvers all participating.

Following an initial screening process conducted by MEDRC, 32 qualified teams went on to participate, 13 of which reached the deadline to submit their entry. One device was tested by MEDRC and came very close to meeting the competition selection criteria.

On opening the application for 2023, Ciaran O Cuinn, Director of MEDRC, said, “Current technologies that turn seawater into fresh water are a miracle. But they are expensive, energy intensive and involve large-scale industrial processes. That needs to change. The Oman Humanitarian Challenge is about miniaturising that technology, making it cheaper, more environmentally sustainable and accessible globally. We’re getting scientists and engineers to focus on delivering a US$20, off-grid, handheld device that can desalinate enough seawater to sustain a human being for 30 days. Delivering this will be a humanitarian and technological game-changer. Each year we get a little closer. Working with Oman’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, we’re determined to close the gap and make this desalination breakthrough.”

MEDRC has set up a globally representative international panel of experts to assist the challenge and form the judging panel. It comprises representatives from the funding entities alongside internationally renowned water experts.

The online application is currently open and will close on May 31.