When you consider that the ocean covers more than 70 percent of our planet’s surface and that 40 percent of the world’s population (2.4 billion people) lives within 60 miles of a coastline, it’s puzzling to know that in this day of advanced science. And with technology, billions of people still don’t have access to clean drinking water, or even basic sanitation at home or watering their crops. The need for innovative solutions to water scarcity is more urgent than ever, which is why the work of a deep-tech startup in Manhattan feels like an extraordinary breakthrough.
In the year The company’s technology is critical as the Middle East and Africa are expected to be home to nearly 3.4 billion people by 2050, driving the need for water supply, an already scarce resource in the region.
Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.
The ongoing water shortage is largely due to the reliance on salinity, with seawater being locked up in the form of salt water for use. Desalination is costly and has environmental consequences. Only 3 percent of the world’s water is fresh water, and 2/3 is trapped in glaciers or otherwise unusable. Rising sea levels due to global warming coupled with irregular rainfall are other factors contributing to water and food shortages.
Despite its long coastline, 80 percent of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is desert, making it one of the water-scarce countries.
“The agriculture sector is responsible for 2/3 of the water consumption in the UAE and we have no natural fresh water bodies. We have underground water which is not enough to sustain our economy because it requires purification before use. Currently, the UAE is energy-intensive, contributing to carbon dioxide emissions and relying on brine extraction,” explains Dr. Saeed Alhassan Al-Khazraji, founder of Manhattan and winner of the Water Europe Innovation Award 2022.
Dr. Alhassan added another challenge to desalination: “The waste brine is often discharged into the oceans, posing a threat to aquatic life.
A deep technological solution to water scarcity in the United Arab Emirates
An Emirati-based deep-tech startup has developed a solar water desalination technology that captures lost ocean evaporation and produces usable water. The initial solution involves placing a large greenhouse structure on the beach and then relying on the sun’s rays to heat the water (as shown above) and evaporate it. After that, the rising water vapor is compressed as it hits the cold side of the building, collected and stored as purified water, with no impurities, brine or emissions.
Especially when you consider that water evaporation from the Arabian Gulf is at least 84 cubic miles (350 cubic kilometers) per year, roughly ten times more than the total amount of freshwater produced in the area each year, according to Manhattan.
“Our technology is proprietary, and its novelty is its ability to produce water from aquifers (such as seas, rivers, and lakes). There is other technology that has been on the market for decades, but it has limitations, including land-based and brine production. Our technology is open source. “Because it is on the surface of the water, we only get water vapor without any salt, so we don’t have to come in contact with brine, which is harmful to aquatic life,” said Dr. Alhassan.
Manhattan Anchor and Float tested various prototypes of the technology. Both are deployed around Abu Dhabi in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Ports and the Alrim Island development team. The assembled devices are installed on the concrete walls in the corn [Abu Dhabi’s waterfront]Floating devices are placed on the surface of the water. We were able to demonstrate the water production process without using any electricity, thus zero carbon dioxide emissions.
Integrated water production technology with floating farm solutions
The startup is also developing floating farming solutions that integrate with their water harvesting technology.
“If you can produce water sustainably, it opens the door to solving water scarcity and food security, because water availability is a prerequisite for large-scale agricultural operations. Our technology mimics the natural water cycle with zero carbon footprint or radiation rejection. The water is immediately used in coastal countries to irrigate crops and aerate. It can be used to mitigate the risk of sea level rise due to property change,” continued Dr. Alhassan.
Gadan 21, the Abu Dhabi government’s economic accelerator program to address the issue of food security, focuses on agricultural technology. Once fully operational, the ag-tech financial package is said to contribute $449.3 million to GDP and create 2,900 new jobs, contributing to the emirate’s goal of increasing domestic food production by 40 percent.
“We are the only integrated water technology to offer floating farm solutions. There are very few floating farms worldwide and they all rely on grid water, either groundwater or water from desalinated plants, which has a negative impact on the environment.
Currently in the seed stage, Manhattan is working to support its deep technology pilot. “Our next goal is to open a pilot floating farm to grow mushrooms and generate income. We expect the pilot project to be built and evaluated in 12 to 18 months. After this evaluation period, we will expand our technology to cover other crops, including wheat and rice. Within five years, we will be able to produce a variety of crops with high commercial value.” “We will have the technology to do it. If we are successful, we will expand our technology globally,” concluded Dr. Alhassan.
Image credits: Manhattan.
