The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative and XPRIZE Foundation have named 37 semi-finalist teams advancing to the next stage of the XPRIZE Water Scarcity, marking a major milestone in the competition and reflecting growing global momentum to accelerate breakthrough technologies that can help address the challenge of water scarcity.
Launched in March 2024 in partnership with XPRIZE Foundation, the five-year XPRIZE Water Scarcity competition is a US$119 million global competition made possible by a US$150 million contribution from The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, marking the initiative’s first priority project. The competition is designed to help expand access to clean water by enabling seawater desalination solutions to be more reliable, affordable, and sustainable, reflecting the initiative’s mission to accelerate innovation, raise awareness and understanding of the issue of global water scarcity, and support the development, testing, and deployment at scale of solutions that can help create a world in which water is accessible, affordable, and sustainable for all.
Semi-finalists have advanced through a rigorous judging process during the Qualified Teams Testing phase and were evaluated for technical merit, feasibility, and operational performance in two competition tracks; Track A and Track B. 20 teams focusing on System-Level Innovation in Track A will receive $5 million funding in total, and 17 teams focusing on Novel Materials and Methods in Track B will receive up to $300,000 in total to further advance and test their solutions.
Ayesha Al Ateeqi, Executive Director of The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, said: "Global water scarcity is one of the defining challenges of our time, and The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative is committed to accelerating the development and deployment of transformative solutions to this emerging crisis. Our partnership with XPRIZE Foundation reflects our conviction that advancing next-generation desalination technologies that are more affordable, scalable, and sustainable is not a distant ambition but an achievable mission. We are proud to be supporting the innovators now advancing to the semifinal stage, whose work is creating tangible opportunities to turn scientific possibilities into real-world impact for communities worldwide."
Anousheh Ansari, Chief Executive Officer of XPRIZE, said: “With XPRIZE Water Scarcity, we are reimagining what’s possible for millions of people who still lack access to safe and reliable water, by unlocking bold, transformative solutions to ensure clean water is available worldwide. The progress of the semi-finalist teams represents the next stage in the development of scalable, energy-efficient, and cost-effective desalination solutions, innovations designed to address gaps in a universal human need in communities that need it most.”
Lauren Greenlee, Executive Vice President of Food + Water + Waste, XPRIZE, said: “XPRIZE Water Scarcity is redefining what is possible in a field long constrained by cost, energy intensity, and environmental impact. This semi-finalist announcement marks a significant milestone of the competition’s first physical testing stage. As we advance to the next phase, this cohort reflects a growing movement toward scalable, adaptive, and resource-efficient seawater desalination systems.”
Semi-finals testing will take place in 2026, followed by the announcement of finalists in early 2027. Finals testing will then be conducted from 2027 to 2028, with winners announced in 2028.
The competition is aligned with the vision of The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative to support creativity and innovation aimed at addressing the challenge of global water scarcity. In parallel with XPRIZE Water Scarcity, the initiative continues to advance innovation through complementary programs, including Al Miyah Challenge for Agriculture, a prize competition designed to accelerate the development and deployment of solutions that reduce water use in agriculture while maintaining or increasing crop yield, with the potential to support adoption in the UAE and other water-scarce regions.
