Deadline: 31-May-21
Suqia cordially invites all corporations, research centers, institutions, innovators and youth from around the world, whose novel technologies provide solutions to the challenges of water scarcity, to apply for the 3rd cycle of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award supports research and development of new and innovative technologies that produce, distribute, store, monitor, desalinate and purify water using renewable energy to support the global position of the UAE in developing solutions for challenges that are faced by poverty- and disaster-stricken communities worldwide.
The biennial Award encourages leading corporations, research centres, institutions, the youth and innovators from across the world to compete in finding sustainable and innovative solutions to the problem of water scarcity. Until today and in two cycles, they awarded bright minds from around the world for their pioneering in water desalination and purification systems to overcome the world’s water crisis.
Categories
The award categories are:
- Innovative Projects Award: Small Project Awards | Large Project Award
- The project submitted by the applicant must be an innovative and commercialized or a ready-to-be- commercialised (e.g. past pilot stage) solution with measurable results in operation for at least 3 months (minimum requirement) prior to the closing date of the application window. The project can consist of a single system or a pool of multiple systems that have been deployed by the same organisation in different locations.
- The project should rely on 100% use of renewable energy to produce safe drinking water in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. It should demonstrate innovation in production capacity, overcoming technical limitations, disinfection systems, operation and maintenance requirements, while also improving efficiency and cost effectiveness. The project benefits should meet the WHO requirements for non-emergency water availability, that is, provide a minimum of 30 lit/person/day* to that intended recipients.
- Intended Applicants: Governmental, semi-governmental, private and non-governmental organisations.
- Small Project Award: In addition to the category description, the project must have a capital expenditure (CAPEX investment not including operational expenses) of USD 2.5 million or below and/or benefit 25,000 persons or less.
- Prize Money and Distribution: Prize money will be awarded to the institution/entity directly (not the project team). The prize in this category will be awarded as follows:
- Total Prize Value is $240,000 and is distributed as follows:
- 1st Place: $120,000;
- 2nd Place: $72,000;
- 3rd Place: $48,000.
- Large Project Award: In addition to the category description, the project must have a capital expenditure (CAPEX investment not including operational expenses) over USD 2.5 million and/or benefit more than 25,000 persons.
- Prize Money and Distribution: Prize money will be awarded to the institution/entity directly (not the project team). The prize in this category will be awarded as follows:
- Total Prize Value is $300,000 and is distributed as follows:
- 1st Place: $150,000;
- 2nd Place: $90,000;
- 3rd Place: $60,000.
- Innovative Research and Development Award – National Institutions Award | International Institutions Award
- The project submitted by the applicant must be an innovative and prototyped, piloted or deployed solution, with the ability to demonstrate measurable results. The project must be developed and executed by the applicant with the aim of extracting safe drinking water from natural sources in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
- The project should be able to operate exclusively on renewable energy once deployed in the field without affecting its economic viability. The project should preferably be a solution that is easily installed, operated and maintained without the need for highly specialised skills and tools and should be able to operate reliably in different and harsh ambient conditions, using low cost and maintenance friendly technology.
- Intended Applicants: Individuals or teams from non-profit, educational and academic institutions and research centres that are independent or annexed to governmental or semi-governmental organisations.
- National Institutions Award: In addition to the category description, the application must be submitted by the project team and endorsed by the research / educational / corporate / non-profit institution within the UAE that is sponsoring the project.
- Prize Money and Distribution: Prize money will be awarded to the sponsoring institution/entity directly (not the project team). A prize distribution agreement between the sponsoring institution and the project shall be provided and submitted to the Applications Team. The sponsoring institution shall be responsible for further distribution of the prize as per the prize distribution agreement.
- Total prize value is $200,000 and is distributed as follows:
- 1st Place: $100,000;
- 2nd Place: $60,000;
- 3rd Place: $40,000.
- International Institutions Award: In addition to the category description, the application must be submitted by the project team and endorsed by the research / educational/ corporate / non-profit institution outside the UAE that is sponsoring the project.
- Prize Money and Distribution: Prize money will be awarded to the sponsoring institution/entity directly (not the project team). A prize distribution agreement between the sponsoring institution and the project shall be provided and submitted to the Applications Team. The sponsoring institution shall be responsible for further distribution of the prize as per the prize distribution agreement.
- Total prize value is $200,000 and is distributed as follows:
- 1st Place: $100,000;
- 2nd Place: $60,000;
- 3rd Place: $40,000.
- Innovative Individual Award – Youth Award | Distinguished Researcher Award
- The individual applying to this category should have developed one or more contributions to enable innovative technological solutions to address water scarcity, which can use renewable energy to produce safe drinking water in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
- The applicant should submit an overview of their research and implementation contributions towards the aims of the award, along with all relevant supporting documents (scientific publications, patents, prototype photos and descriptions etc.)
- Intended Applicants: Individual applicants.
- Youth Award: In addition to the category description, the applicant must be between the ages of 15 and 35, and have demonstrated the deployment of a project developing and enabling renewable energy powered water solutions of proven environmental, scientific, social or technological significance, and demonstrated relevance to water issue(s) locally or globally.
- Prize Money and Distribution: Prize money will be awarded to the individual applicant.
- Prize Value: $20,000 (1 winner).
- Distinguished Researcher Award: In addition to the category description, the applicant shall have attained outstanding achievements of lasting significance for sustainable use and protection of the world’s water resources, with at least 10 years of contribution to the water industry or academia research, with a focus on renewable energy powered water innovation demonstrated by their scientific publication track record (e.g. by number of citations, h-index, journal impact factor and awards) and/or project deployment.
- Prize Money and Distribution: Prize money will be awarded to the individual applicant.
- Prize Value: $20,000 (1 winner).
- Innovative Crises Solutions Award
- The applicant’s project must be an innovative system or management system to offer emergency relief by providing clean and safe drinking water in communities that have been affected by internationally declared crises, such as natural disasters, or catastrophic events.
- The project can consist of a single system or a pool of multiple systems deployed by the same organisation in different locations or communities, and have the ability to be deployed within 48 hours. The project must have been field deployed in an emergency and proven to have aided at least 1,000 people in need of fresh water during the initial critical phases of humanitarian assistance.
- The project should produce safe drinking water in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, and should be demonstrating innovation in rapid deployment, independency from existing utility supplies and provisions, and robustness during operation.
- Intended Applicants: Small enterprises, research institutions, and NGOs.
- Additional Requirements: The organisation should be a legal entity, with a registered trade license and bank account. Please also attach a copy of the company/organisation trade licence or equivalent when submitting your application.
- *In this category, the applicant need not demonstrate the use of renewable energy, but it is preferable.
Eligibility Criteria
- The award is open internationally to all innovators, students, companies, and research institutions who have developed renewable energy powered technologies that can produce clean drinking water in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
For more information, visit https://suqia.ae/awards