The Global Prize Innovation in Desalination uses crowdsourcing to improve the availability, affordability, and accessibility of water

LONDON, UK, July 30, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Global Prize Innovation in Desalination (GPID) has launched the 2024 edition of its $10M prize fund supported by a series of crowdsourcing challenges, which include prizes for Breakthrough Award for developing technologies and Most Impactful Lab/Accelerator in Water Production Technology.

All GPID challenges through Wazoku Crowd are designed to find and reward the most innovative solutions addressing the global issue of water scarcity. The Breakthrough Award aims to celebrate the research, ideas, technologies, and solutions that are still developing and piloting, while the Most Impactful Lab / Accelerator Challenge targets those with a track record of market-ready work and upcoming projects.

Scientists and Universities are invited to submit free entries - taking just 30 minutes - to the GPID awards. A total of $10M is dedicated to the program, available to winners and shortlisted Solvers in cash awards and subsequent pilot funding, while they can also benefit from GPID’s long-term support in piloting, networking, and consultancy.

With more than one-quarter of the world’s population facing challenges in accessing safe drinking water and an increase of 30% in the volume and severity of drought crises, the solutions can’t come soon enough, according to GPID.

“Easy access to clean and affordable drinking water should be available to every human on the planet,” said Dr. Mohammed Almaghrabi, Secretary General of the Global Prize for Innovation in Desalination (GPID). “Some of the world’s most innovative thinking in water production can be found in the science and higher education sectors. Applicants are able to retain their IP, even in the piloting phase, to show our dedication to supporting breakthrough work. We look forward to celebrating and accelerating the latest developments, scale, and innovation displayed in water technologies and production by the scientific community.”

There are three other prize opportunities: Discovery Award for early-stage solutions, Most Innovative Idea in Water Production to celebrate developments in policy/economics, and Venture Capital Deal of the Year in Water Production.

The prizes focus on improving the environmental footprint of desalination processes, reducing energy consumption and operational costs. The Lab/Accelerator Award is looking for key innovations or research findings from labs that have significantly advanced water science or technology, and details as to how it has contributed to solving global water challenges.

Founded in 2023 by SWCC (Saline Water Conversion Corporation), now SWA (Saudi Water Authority), GPID is in its second year. SWA is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water, supplying 34 million people in Saudi Arabia and producing more than 20% of the world’s desalinated seawater.
Innovation scale-up Wazoku is powering the GPID. Its open innovation offering, the Wazoku Crowd, consists of a 700,000-strong network of expert problem ‘Solvers’, comprised of scientists, technologists, CEOs, start-ups and more.

“Our crowd has an incredible track record in solving water and other global challenges," said Simon Hill, CEO, Wazoku. "Access to water is one of the planet's most pressing challenges, and by committing such a substantial prize fund and support system, GPID is committed to helping address that problem.”

Shortlisted Solvers and award winners will be invited to the three-day Innovation Drive Desalination Event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from 11 to 13 November 2024, with all expenses paid. All winning Solvers will be given the opportunity to take part in the Saudi Water Innovation Center (SWIC), a leading incubator and accelerator in this technology space.

The GPID awards close on 31 August 2024.

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For further information about Wazoku, visit https://www.wazoku.com
For further information about GPID, visit https://gpid.net/

Paul Allen
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