The DoE launches a $100 million Energy-Water Desalination initiative

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced a $100 million investment aimed towards establishing an Energy-Water Desalination Hub (Hub) to address water security issues in the United States. The Hub will focus on early-stage research and development (R&D) for energy-efficient and cost-competitive desalination technologies including manufacturing challenges, and for treating non-traditional water sources for multiple end-use applications.

The Hub will focus on desalination R&D to provide low-cost alternatives that treat "non-traditional" water sources such as seawater, brackish water, and produced waters, for use in municipal and industrial water supplies, or to serve other water resource needs. Successful research can then reduce demand on stressed freshwater supplies.

The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office will lead the Energy-Water Desalination Hub. DOE will fund one new five year award, subject to appropriations. The Hub team will work to achieve the goals of four technical topic areas: (1) materials research and development; (2) new processes research and development; (3) modeling and simulation tools; and (4) integrated data and analysis.

View the funding application and submission requirements for the Energy-Water Desalination Hub here. Concept papers are due on February 7, 2019.