SWCC and the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources in tandem have initiated the development of a cutting-edge technology for seawater desalination
With the continued and concerted efforts put in to further develop the desalination industry alongside the state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly technologies put into action for least energy consumption; hence, to produce the highest desalinated water, SWCC has initiated the development of a cutting-edge technology for seawater desalination, in close cooperation with the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources spearheaded by the Seawater Desalination Research Institute and multiple uses.
To this effect, the scope of cooperation includes the development of projects powered by Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology and evaporation technology using a Multi-Stage Effect (MSE) method, along with projects of future technologies and standardizing desalination techniques.
Of great note, the said close cooperation will further contribute to strengthening the two-way relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the People's Republic of China and developing well-established communication avenues through diplomatic channels and economic sectors and enhancing constructive communication in water desalination to better realize and optimize the development of technologies and enhance performance efficiency to double the milestones and achievements in reducing energy consumption and localizing modern technologies.
The package of joint projects in the desalination technologies will bridge and reduce the global gap brought about by the water shortage and the scarcity of its natural resources impacted by high production cost, let alone being on demand for innovative economic and environmentally friendly technological capabilities with higher production capacities, which operate in full swing to meet the increasingly growing demand for water at the global level with the population growing remarkably over the recent years.
Taken together, the Saudi Chinese partnership is a further step into desalination investment as the largest global leading producer of desalinated water and the least energy consumption in the SWCC production system. Such resonating achievements have come to fruition by concluding several international partnerships with various sectors and relevant authorities in America, France, Russia, Spain, and Germany. With this coming into play, SWCC aims to transform the risks and challenges of localizing advanced technologies into competitive opportunities and advantages to further enhance the performance of the desalination industry and sustainability in the Kingdom and the world at large.
SWCC has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the US Department of Energy, covering several areas and projects related to conventional and advanced seawater desalination operations to better reduce costs and raise efficiency, invest in new low-cost technologies and projects to localize the desalination industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and raise energy efficiency in desalination operations, and invest in zero brine discharge techniques.
SWCC entered into an agreement with Sandia Laboratories of the US Department of Energy in research and development of innovative RO membranes, corrosion-resistant materials, analyses, and monitoring technologies. By the same token, SWCC has also partnered with Pacifica Water Solutions to develop RO membranes and zero brine discharge technology and to develop a prototype to develop nano-membranes, design and establish a plant to produce membranes for SWCC inside Saudi Arabia and market an advanced smart system to control desalination systems.
The agreements also included an MOU with the US Floyd Technology Corporation, providing the use of FTS elements and associated engineering designs in water analyses, and the production of brine solution of high quality and concentration suitable for the chlor-alkali industry for the benefit of the Saudi markets and Aramco affiliates. SCC also signed an MOU with the International Institution of Corrosion Engineers (NICE), which aimed to develop and share experiences to benefit from the NICE educational and training programs and to use the NICE specifications and recent publications, benefiting from corporate memberships and obtaining specialized publications and programs.
Equally important, SWCC has also signed an agreement with Dr. Eve, Senior French Subject-Matter Expert (SME), to cooperate in the development of energy-efficient and high-pressure pumps. SWCC has also concluded an MOU with Orel Tech Burm in Russia for the development of water transmission technologies and the extraction of magnesium from brine solution. Furthermore, SWCC has also signed an MOU with Ufa University of Petroleum Technology in Russia to benefit from its advanced expertise in extracting valuable elements from salt discharge, the reliability of equipment and high-pressure pumps, and the development of the training system in pipelines and desalination equipment.
More so, SWCC has signed an agreement was with K-UTEC in Germany to develop zero brine discharge techniques to produce high quality and concentrated brine solution. Again, SWCC has also concluded an agreement for the development of new technologies, TELAM in Spain to develop and evaluate an advanced desalination technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Combined together, these strategic partnerships make it possible for SWCC to better build an international conglomerate in the desalination industry for the benefit of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the entire world in the areas of using new and renewable energy and reducing the cost of producing a cubic meter of desalinated water from desalination systems, as SWCC has achieved a resounding success of desalination world record, realizing cost reduction of the production of a cubic meter in the projects down to (SAR 1.2), and the reduction of energy consumption to less than (SAR 2.27) kilowatt-hours / m3 in the production systems powered by national human resources, thankfully, who in concert have proudly carved SWCC fame in the Guinness World Records, par excellence.