Embark on a journey of innovation as we proudly announce the arrival of the 2024 edition of the Global Prize for Innovation in Water Desalination (GPID). Fueled by renewed enthusiasm, this year’s project is set to redefine the very essence of desalination.
Embark on a journey of innovation as we proudly announce the arrival of the 2024 edition of the Global Prize for Innovation in Water Desalination (GPID). Fueled by renewed enthusiasm, this year’s project is set to redefine the very essence of desalination.
submissions received worldwide
universities and research institutions participating
countries represented
Desalination is a transformative process that meets the global demand for fresh water by converting seawater into potable water using advanced technologies. With 97% of Earth’s water in oceans, Desalination is crucial for overcoming freshwater scarcity. Through methods like reverse osmosis and distillation, it removes salt, providing a sustainable solution.
The Global Prize for Innovation in Water Desalination (GPID) recognizes and rewards significant contributions in water desalination, inspiring others to join our mission for sustainable water solutions. Our ultimate goal is to contribute to a sustainable world by fostering innovation and advancing desalination technologies. Join us in navigating towards a future where water scarcity is history.
Grand Prize Winner
Impact Medal
Consumables and Chemicals
Impact Medal
Environmental Impact
Impact Medal
Consumables and Chemicals
Grand Prize Winner
Impact Medal
Environmental Impact
Impact Medal
Beyond Water
Impact Medal
Brown Field Capex
Impact Medal
Energy and Decarbonisation
Impact Medal
Green Field Capex
Syed A. Shah is an accomplished operational expert with a distinguished 25-year career in global manufacturing. He has significantly impacted diverse industries, including filtration, automotive, electronics, and professional services, where he held C-suite and top executive roles at several multi-nation
He’s a researcher and entrepreneur who has developed an innovative water desalination technology based on the batch reverse osmosis process. He founded Harmony Desalting in 2020 with the aim of making desalination more affordable, reliable and sustainable. His company has won several prizes and awards, including second place in the MIT Clean Energy Prize 2020, first place in the More Water Less Concentrate 2022 competition, and participation in the Pop Up City Contest 2022. Mr. Wei received his PhD from MIT in 2021, under the supervision of Professor John H. Lienhard V, Director of J-WAFS.
He’s an entrepreneur and inventor of the first Desolenator patent. In his current role he works as CEO of Desolenator, with a focus on the tech roll-out. William has 25 years experience in international business development, having managed large projects and product developments in the Far East and Middle East. Previously stationed in Singapore, Hong Kong India and the Emirates, he is now back in Europe and has a background in mechanical engineering from TU Delft.
He’s serving as the Director of the Institute on Membrane Technology of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ITM), Rende (CS) Italy, since 1st March 2019. His research expertise include membrane science and engineering with special focus on membrane preparation and characterisation, membrane applications in environmental filed, membrane contactor applications, pervaporation, downstream processing based on molecular separation, membrane emulsifier and encapsulation, integrated membrane operations for water treatment.
He’s a chemical engineer and a water tech entrepreneur. He has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from University of Bradford in UK and two decades of experience in design, engineering, construction, operations, maintenance, and troubleshooting and optimization of industrial and municipal membrane-based water treatment processes as well as technology development and commercialization. His unique and diversified experience expands from developing a concept from a bench scale through field pilot and large-scale commercialization and deployment. He has delivered over 60 cutting-edge and challenging water treatment solutions across the globe. Arian is also a graduate of UCLA’s Anderson School of Management’s Executive Management Program. His personal interests include landscape and street photography, hiking, and translation of cross-cultural literary work.
Attia Kather is a mechanical engineer and energy recovery expert. He designs and optimises cogeneration, trigeneration and heat recovery systems from renewable and non-renewable sources. He has worked for several companies and institutions in Italy and abroad, including the University of Bologna, ENEA, Siemens and General Electric. He is currently the technical director of Energy Recovery Solutions, a company that offers innovative and customised solutions for energy saving and emission reduction.
He is a successful and well-recognized Desalter and an early pioneer in the desalination field. He has over 40 years of experience in the Water Treatment and Membrane Technology business. He has had multiple positions in all aspects of the water treatment field, including roles as an R&D Engineer, Field Service engineer, Engineering Manager, Director, Vice President, President, and CEO. Mr. Said set the record, over 2.7 Million m3/D (713 Billion gpd), of reverse osmosis (RO) plants built worldwide. Mr. Said successfully founded Two Major Desalination companies, American Engineering services (AES) and Advanced Environmental Water Technologies (AEWT) and eventually sold both AES and AEWT. Mr. Said is the inventor of the Mega Vessel and founder of Mega Vessels Inc..