The Sultanate is renewing its offer of $700,000 in prize money to any inventor — local or international — who comes up with a cost-effective, portable, hand-held desalination device that can be easily deployed in natural disasters or humanitarian crises anywhere in the world.
The announcement was made by an official of the Muscat-based Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC) which, together with The Research Council (TRC), first unveiled the Oman Humanitarian Desalination Challenge in March. Also supporting the initiative is the Sultan Qaboos High Centre for Social Sciences.
“The $700,000 prize is to be given to any individual or team worldwide that can develop a small desalination device which can be deployed in remote areas in cases of natural disasters, such as tsunamis, earthquakes or wars etc,” said Dr Jauad el Kharraz (pictured), Head of Research at MEDRC. “The prize money is meant to encourage scientists or innovators to come up with a real solution that is easy to use and affordable.”
Speaking at a forum hosted by The Research Council in Muscat recently, Dr El Kharraz noted that water desalination technology is cost-effective when it comes to large-scale potable water production, but is prohibitively expensive in small-scale production catering to the urgent needs of people displaced by natural calamities or conflict.
“When we look at statistics, we see a seven-fold increase in natural disasters, such as those triggered climate change, tsunamis, flash floods, droughts, and so on, which create refugees who have no access to fresh water. Most often, water supply systems are either destroyed or stop working during such crises. So the question is how do you help such people before UN agencies or other emergency services can intervene, which can sometimes take days or even weeks for them to respond.”
The winning device must meet certain criteria defined by a joint team of local and international specialists, said Dr El Kharraz. “It should be a small, handheld device that can be used easily by an individual. It must be portable and robust enough for it to be airlifted in large quantities and airdropped to people left stranded by a humanitarian situation. As a low-cost device, the production cost should not exceed $20 per unit, and should be functional for at least one month. Furthermore, it should meet the WHO’s standards for drinking water and produce at least three litres per day of water without the need for any chemical use.”
First unveiled in March this year, the Oman Humanitarian Desalination Challenge has so far failed to garner a winning product, according to the researcher.
Around 100 individuals and teams registered to participate in the challenge, of which 82 met the prerequisites to compete. Fifteen teams made it to the final stage, of which three were invited to submit working models of their inventions. The only contestant that sent in an entry however did not make the cut, having fallen short of some of the criteria set by the jury.
Consequently, the Oman Humanitarian Desalination Challenge is being renewed for a second year with fresh registrations due to open on January 19, 2020, said Dr El Kharraz. The challenge will run for four years or until a winning device is found.
In parallel with this competition, USAID is pitching in with a grant of $90,000 for two teams aimed at spurring the innovation of a family scale unit that can produce 120 litres per day of fresh water, he added.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
