The Solar Desalination Prize is a four-phase prize competition that will advance thermal desalination technologies to expand the utilization of non-traditional water sources, ensure water security, and improve the resilience of U.S. infrastructure.
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office launched the Solar Desalination Prize in April 2020 to help achieve the goals of the Water Security Grand Challenge.
The Opportunity
Removing salt from water takes a lot of energy! Many of the largest untapped water resources in the US and around the world cannot be cost-effectively used because of high concentrations of dissolved salts.
Water treatment processes, like reverse osmosis, are efficient when salt concentrations are low, but can’t treat high-salt waters like those that are produced from oil and gas wells, concentrated brines, and some industrial and agricultural wastewaters.
Novel thermal desalination technologies can purify water with very high salt content without dramatically increasing the amount of energy required. By using solar thermal as the energy source, desalination technologies could be used in a variety of important environments, especially in arid areas with high sun exposure, where water purification is especially important.
The Prize Structure
The Solar Desalination Prize has a rapid iteration prize structure designed to help entrepreneurs use innovative research to come up with ideas, then design and test concepts, with the end goal of having shovel-ready technology primed for industry adoption.
Millions of dollars in prizes will be awarded over the competition, increasing in value in each phase, culminating in a $1 million grand prize at the end of the competition for successful testing and demonstration of promising solar desalination prototypes.
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.
Just a reminder – join us tomorrow at 3pm Eastern to talk with the quarterfinalist teams of the Solar Desalination Prize.
To refresh yourself on each team’s concept and what partners they are looking for, check out this recording of the Pitch event last week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmWEZ8lj8gM.
Interested in learning more about the Solar Desalination Prize quarterfinalist teams? Join us for a networking event next Tuesday 12/8 for an opportunity to virtually connect with team members representing each of the quarterfinalists. Register here: https://bit.ly/2JCkDmt
Join us today at 11:00 a.m. ET to meet the 19 quarterfinalists in the Innovation Contest and hear their pitches at the Teaming Webinar on Nov. 30 at 11 a.m. ET. Register here: https://bit.ly/3p7v81s
Want to join a team of innovators working to ensure a clean, reliable water supply? Meet the 19 quarterfinalists in the Innovation Contest and hear their pitches at the Teaming Webinar on Nov. 30 at 11 a.m. ET.
Hosted by the International Desalination Association, the Teaming Webinar offers the opportunity to learn about these innovative ideas in advance of the Remo networking event on Dec. 8 at 3 p.m. ET.
Congratulations to the 19 quarterfinalists who were announced today by U.S. Department of Energy as winners of the Innovation contest! Each winner will receive $50,000 in cash and advance to the Teaming contest of the competition. The competitors were chosen from more than 160 submissions, and come from 12 states and representing universities, industry, and national labs.
Heat Storage for 24-Hour Solar Desalination, Arcadia, CA
Solar Thermal Enhanced Evaporation, Minneapolis, MN
NoAir: Super-Vacuum Gap NanoMembrane Distillation, Gainesville, FL
TSSE Desalination of Hypersaline Brines, Santa Barbara, CA
Sorption-Based ZLD Technology, Houghton, MI
Portable Treatment of Oil/Gas Wastewater with ZLD, Corvallis, OR
Forward Osmosis – Biomimicry at Work, Rohnert Park, CA
STREED - Resonant Energy Exchange Desalination, Houston, TX
Zero Discharge Multi-effect Adsorption Distiller, Trenton, NJ
Modular Inexpensive Solar-Thermal Evaporative Desal, Andover, MA
Solar Aqua Flex: Off-Grid Solar Still, Nashville, TN
Brine Concentration with Managed Salt Precipitates, Hopewell, NJ
Urban Solar-Desal Building, College Park, MD
Membrane Distillation with Ceramic Membranes, Storrs, CT
Mimicking Rain Cycle Using Traveling Liquid Beads, Los Angeles, CA
Switchable Solvent Water Extraction from Brine, Rohnert Park, CA
X-VAP: Self-Contained Distillation, Houston, TX
CCR’s LTDis Technology, Frisco, TX
100% Solar Transcritical Water Desalination, Pittsburgh, PA
Stay tuned for updates on the next phase of the competition.
