Saudi: NEOM Megacity Announces First-of-its- Kind Desalination Plant Powered By Renewable Energy To Meet 30% Of Water Demand

ENOWA, the energy, water, and hydrogen subsidiary of NEOM, has signed an agreement with Japan’s ITOCHU and France’s Veoila to develop a first-of-its- kind desalination plant.

Located in NEOM’s manufacturing and innovation city OXAGON, the plant will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy. OXAGON, announced in November last year, will be a carbon emissions-free industrial city “floating” on the Red Sea as part of the NEOM mega-project.

Upon completion in 2025, the plant will operate with a production capacity of 500,000 cubic meters of desalinated water per day, which accounts for around 30 percent of the total projected water demand in NEOM.

As part of NEOM’s circular economy philosophy, the new plant will use advanced membrane technology to produce separate brine streams. This will enable ENOWA to produce brine-derived products, which will be developed and monetised downstream.

Brine, which is usually considered a waste output of desalination, will be used to produce significant quantities of valuable industrial materials that can be used locally or exported internationally.

ENOWA was launched last March by the $500 billion project wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. ENOWA is tasked with mandate of designing and building world-class, sustainable energy and water systems. It aims to create a sustainable, abundant water supply for residential, industrial, and commercial use.

Envisaged by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, NEOM is a planned $500 billion futuristic city-state being built on the Red Sea in northwest Saudi Arabia. The plan for the city is to cover 10,000 square miles of Saudi Arabia's Tabuk province, near its borders with Jordan and Egypt.

The city will exist entirely outside the confines of the current Saudi judicial system, governed by an autonomous legal system that will be drafted up by investors.

Within NEOM, there would be OXAGON, the world’s largest floating industrial complex and the world’s first fully integrated port and supply chain ecosystem.

NEOM would also be home to TROJENA — a mountain tourism destination, which will offer year-round outdoor skiing, a wellness resort and an interactive nature reserve, among other experiences.