Future of desalination in the context of water security

Abstract

In September 2022, the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) of Saudi Arabia and Global Water Intelligence (GWI) organized an international conference on the future of desalination, in Riyadh. The SWCC was established in 1974 as an autonomous government institution. Since its formation, it has played an increasingly important role in fostering and improving desalination practices and processes not only in Saudi Arabia but also around the entire world. It is now a major force in the world of desalination and is also, by far, the largest global producer of desalinated water. The conference successfully brought together policymakers, developers, consultants, manufacturers, operators and researchers to discuss the future of desalination in the world. The conference was timely since the issue of the future of desalination, or the broader issue of the future of the world’s waters and the role desalination plays, needs to be discussed much more seriously. It was also very appropriate that SWCC convened this international conference since, as an institution, it probably now has more experience in producing and managing desalinated water than any other institution in the world. Refreshingly, presentations and discussions, for the most part, were based on real problems, issues and solutions in this sector rather than theoretical discussions. The organizers identified at least three important challenges that desalination will have to resolve by 2030: