ENGIE, a global leader in low-carbon energy and services, are collaborating with NEOM, the sustainable region in northwest Saudi Arabia, on advancing solutions for desalination brine valorization. This cross-border partnership addresses a key component of water sustainability in arid regions and extracting value from waste.

Under the terms of the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), ENGIE and NEOM will share expertise, testing results, and pilot installations aimed at developing desalination brine management practices. The partnership will harness advanced technologies, including advanced membrane solutions and crystallization systems, to explore the potential for valuable resource recovery from seawater brine by-products.

“Brine management is one of the critical challenges associated with desalination. By working with NEOM, who are ambitious in terms of scale and complexity, we are excited to explore new avenues for sustainable solutions that align with our broader mission of driving the energy transition,” said Olivier Sala, Vice President of Research & Innovation at ENGIE.

Gavin van Tonder, Managing Director of Water at NEOM, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration: “NEOM is committed to accelerating global progress on sustainable water management. Partnering with ENGIE, we aim to advance necessary technologies that reduce environmental footprint of desalination while contributing to NEOM’s vision of a sustainable future.”

This collaboration represents a step towards building a sustainable water resource management system, with the potential to scale these solutions to other regions facing similar challenges in water desalination.