UAE Honours Water Innovators with $1M Global Award

Post by : Bianca Suleiman

Photo: Dubai Government Media Office 

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, recently honoured the winners of the fourth edition of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award. The ceremony was held at Emirates Towers in Dubai and was attended by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai. The award is managed by the UAE Water Aid Foundation, known as Suqia UAE, and is part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives. This year, 12 winners from 8 countries received awards, with total prize money of one million dollars. The award includes categories such as Innovative Projects, Innovative Research and Development, Innovative Individual, and Innovative Crisis Solutions.

Sheikh Mohammed spoke at the event, saying that the UAE will continue to help improve lives through innovation and humanitarian efforts. He pointed out that clean water is a serious issue affecting millions of people worldwide. He said the UAE believes in using smart ideas and technology to solve this problem. He also expressed pride in the work of UAE institutions and confirmed that the country will support every meaningful project that can bring positive change. He shared that the UAE’s message is humanitarian, using knowledge and innovation to help people in need across the world.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Suqia UAE, also gave a speech. He thanked Sheikh Mohammed for his strong support of humanitarian work. He said the award reflects Sheikh Mohammed’s belief in finding real-world solutions for serious global problems. He mentioned that according to the United Nations, 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water, and UNICEF says more than 1,000 children under age five die every day due to poor water, sanitation, and hygiene. Many people around the world still live without clean water.

Al Tayer shared that Suqia UAE is now celebrating its 10th year and has already carried out more than 1,000 water projects in 37 countries, reaching about 15 million people. These projects were done with partners like the Emirates Red Crescent. He said this shows how important innovative thinking is when it comes to solving water problems. The award, named after a leader who believed in hope and helping others, shows the UAE’s strong commitment to humanitarian work. Al Tayer also praised the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, for continuing this legacy.

He explained that the award has now become a major global platform for companies, researchers, and inventors. It pushes them to create new and clean ways to produce and clean water using energy from the sun, wind, or other sustainable sources. In the first three editions, 31 winners from 22 countries were awarded. This year, entries came from 46 countries, and the 12 winners showed amazing creativity in helping communities that struggle to get safe water.

One of the top winners this year was a UAE company, Green Waste Solutions Trading DMCC, for its project that turns waste into clean drinking water and energy using solar power and smart technology. Another winner from Vietnam created cheap water filters that help schools and poor communities. A Belgian company developed a solar water system already helping over 200,000 people. From France, a small solar-powered machine that collects water from air won first place, while a Chinese project used solar and wind power to clean seawater for island residents. A Hong Kong company developed a quiet system that gives 150 litres of clean water a day.

For research awards, a French company built a solar distillation system that reduces pollution, and a Saudi project found a way to clean seawater while collecting valuable minerals. From the UAE, Khalifa University made a nature-inspired system that makes clean water from seawater without harmful waste. In the crisis solutions category, an Australian foundation developed a portable system that gives over 5,000 litres of clean water daily, helping people in disaster-hit areas. In the individual awards, a U.S.-based professor received recognition for his solar water innovations, and a young inventor from China built a solar-powered water system that is cheap and very effective.

This year’s award not only celebrated great ideas but also showed how global cooperation and innovation can bring clean water to people who need it most. The UAE continues to lead in supporting projects that make a real difference in the world.