Finalists Names for USAID Renewable Desal Grant

Teams win with new "electrodialysis" technology that greatly reduces the amount of waste water associated with current desalination practices. The top three contenders will move on and compete for $400,000 in USAID grants to further test and develop their technologies in a developing country

The team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology won the Desal Prize and the $140,000 grand prize.

Both teams won for using a new "electrodialysis" technology that greatly reduces the amount of waste water associated with current desalination practices, according to a press statement issued by the United States Agency for International Development.

The top three contenders will move on and compete for $400,000 in USAID grants to further test and develop their technologies in a developing country. In a recent interview, the UTEP team expressed interest in setting up a pilot project with rural farmers in Mexico.

The Green Desal team received honorable mention for its improvements upon the reverse osmosis method. The team is comprised of the Asian Institute of Technology & Management and others.

"By 2050, global water demand is expected to increase by 55 percent, and 70 percent of global water use occurs in food production," said Christian Holmes, USAID Global Water Coordinator at USAID's U.S. Global Development Lab. "The Desal Prize was developed to supply catalytic funding to capture and support the innovative ideas and new technologies that could have a significant impact."

UTEP's Center for Inland Desalination Systems designed a Zero Discharge Desalination technology that reduces water waste in the desalination of groundwater by conventional processes. The electrodialysis method uses voltage to remove undesirable ions from water.

Source: ElpasoTimes

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• Learning & Development
• Technology
• Desalination