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American-Made Program

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Solar Desalination Round 2

Develop systems that use low-cost solar-thermal energy to help clean water produced by oil & gas extraction & other industrial activities.

This challenge is closed to new competitors

Energy, Environment & Resources Engineering
stage:
Judging Closed
prize:
$1 million grand prize and other awards (TBD)

This challenge is closed to new competitors

Energy, Environment & Resources Engineering
more
Summary
Timeline
Updates21
Forum16
Teams1.4K
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FAQ
Summary

Overview

Solar Desalination Prize

The Solar Desalination Prize is a competition designed to accelerate the development of systems that use low-cost solar-thermal energy to produce clean water from very-high-salinity water, like water produced from oil and gas extraction. The clean water produced can be used in municipal, agricultural, and industrial applications.

 

 

The Opportunity

According to Environment Protection Agency, the oil and gas industry produces several hundred billion gallons of wastewater annually.  This water can have a salt content that is too high for commercially available desalination technologies. Solar thermal desalination can the solution to treating this water, even in remote locations.

The technologies used in solar desalination can also be used in industrial applications like food processing, chemical production, and mineral processing. Solar desalination systems and many industrial applications like food processing do not require high temperatures, so they utilize lower-cost components than other electricity-producing applications.

 

The Prize Structure

The prize is structured in four phases. Each successive phase is more challenging than the last, with larger prizes and fewer competitors advancing. The challenge requires competitors to make progress on a condensed timeline, form private-sector partnerships, and secure investments to make their ideas a reality. 

By the end of the competition, the teams will have designed their solar-thermal desalination system, obtained the necessary permitting and approval documents, built it, and then demonstrated the operation of their system. The Department of Energy will determine the winner and award a final prize of $1 million in cash. 

 

 

Guidelines

Who can participate?

Entrepreneurs, technologists, hardware developers, engineers, solar experts, and investors are all encouraged to join the challenge, be part of the American-Made Network and create ground-breaking solutions that will accelerate solar desalination technologies.

Please review the official rules for the application process and instructions for competing.

View legal agreement
Timeline
Updates21

Challenge Updates

21 updates
September 2026
NLR Prize Moderator · Sept. 29, 11:59 a.m. new

Final Two Teams Join the Solar Desalination Prize Cohort

Two teams have been selected as finalists in the Solar Desalination Prize. Each team is awarded $750,000 for successfully completing the Design Contest. The finalists are (in alphabetical order): 

  • RadiPulse Solar (Merced, CA), previously known as Winston Cone Optics: This team is developing an innovative solar concentrator designed to minimize the capital costs, complexity, and operations and maintenance costs of the collector system of a solar-driven desalination process. This project aims to address water challenges for oil and gas operators efficiently and economically.
  • SolMem (Houston, TX): This team is developing a solar thermal treatment process to enable low-energy desalination of high-salinity wastewater for coal-fired power plant and landfill operators, including their waste streams. The team is also exploring the market for treating produced water from oil and gas operations for beneficial reuse.

These teams join the cohort of other finalists competing in the Test Contest, where teams build and test prototype systems to demonstrate consistent, repeatable operation in removing salt and other impurities from water. 

Status Update

After DOE’s review, we are continuing the Solar Desalination Prize with a modified timeline. Please closely review the HeroX timeline for the updated deadlines and review the recently modified rules document. Minor changes have been made to the rules, but the intent of the prize remains the same.

Congratulations to RadiPulse Solar and SolMem! Learn more about the finalists. 

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August 2024
NREL Prize Moderator · Aug. 2, 11:48 a.m.

Two More Teams Selected as Solar Desalination Prize Finalists

Another two Solar Desalination Prize teams have advanced as finalists in the Solar Desalination Prize. The following teams are being awarded $750,000 each for their successful completion of the Design Contest: 

  • GreenBlu (Trenton, NJ): This team is recovering magnesium from seawater through their primary innovation, the solar-thermal Temperature-Swing Vapor Pump crystallizer
  • Solar Desalt (Raleigh, NC): This team reduces the amount of wastewater from California wineries by combining a high-temperature desorption with a low-temperature crystallization process.  

These teams will join the rankings of two other finalist teams already competing in the Test Contest. In this contest, they’ll build prototype systems that remove salt and other impurities from water and demonstrate their consistent and repeatable operation. 

Congratulations to teams GreenBlu and Solar Desalt! Learn more about the finalists. 

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April 2024
NLR Prize Moderator · April 18, 1:58 p.m.

Sunvapor Selected as Solar Desalination Prize Finalist

Another Solar Desalination Prize finalist has been selected. Sunvapor from Pasadena, CA, has been awarded $750,000 for their Solar Hybrid Desalination Process. 

Sunvapor’s Solar Hybrid Desalination Process project focuses on brine management—taking in brines produced from a variety of sources, such as reverse osmosis waste, power plant cooling towers, and other waste streams with high salt content.

The team is now the second team to advance to the Test Contest as a finalist. Sunvapor will now build their prototype system with a production capacity of at least 100 cubic meters of fresh water per day. Competitors will then demonstrate the consistent and repeatable operation of their prototype system.

Congratulations to Sunvapor. Learn more about the team’s SCEPTRE solution. 

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February 2023
NLR Prize Administrator · Feb. 28, 12:40 p.m.

Katz Water Technologies Advances to Stage Four

We’re excited to announce the Solar Desalination Prize has a new finalist! Katz Water Technologies was the first team to win $750,000 and move on to the final phase of the prize, where they’ll build, validate, and get ready to demonstrate their innovative solar-thermal-powered distillation system to purify salt water. Read all about this unique challenge and their clever technology: https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/american-made-challenges-solar-desalination-prize-round-1.

Check back for updates to see who our next finalist will be! 

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April 2022
NLR Prize Administrator · April 22, 11:19 a.m.

Teaming Contest Semifinalists Announced!

Congratulations to the Solar Desalination Prize Round 2 semifinalist teams, announced today by the U.S. Department of Energy at the American-Made Earth Celebration. 

  • Sunvapor, from Pasadena, California
  • Planet A Energy, from Pasadena, California
  • SolMem, from Houston, Texas
  • Artic Solar, from Jacksonville, Florida
  • Team Trident, from Santa Barbara, California
  • Winston Cone Optics, from Merced, California


The six semifinalists will receive $250,000 and a $100,000 technical assistance voucher to help design their systems in the Design and Test phases of the competition. 

Learn more about EERE and the American-Made Challenges. 

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Forum16
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FAQ