Saudi Arabia’s Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) has been recognised by Guinness World Records for setting a global record in reducing energy consumption in water desalination. Guinness World Records verified the figure of 2.271 kWh per cubic meter in March 2021. SWCC promotes environmental sustainability by adopting new technologies that lower the use of power and cost of produced water in the desalination industry.
The SWCC plants use reverse osmosis (RO) technology, which they have uniquely re-engineered to develop supply chains and reduce operational costs while achieving positive financial returns. The new plants are seawater take systems powered by energy recovery techniques and equipped with high-efficiency energy recovery device (ERD) pumps.
Saline Water Conversion Corporation Governor, His Excellency Eng. Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Abdulkareem said: “We are proud of this milestone achievement featured in Guinness World Records. In line with Vision 2030, the SWCC works to enable local talent in its current and future developmental projects; this initiative covered the full project life cycle utilising pre-existing competencies and expertise to localise the desalination industry fully.”
SWCC has invested in its engineering and research expertise to expand design innovation and supply high-efficiency, low-energy, and more flexible desalination plants. They have recently implemented several projects and initiatives to showcase their commitment to minimising environmental impact while reducing the cost of producing and transporting desalinated water.
SWCC has significantly reduced gas emissions from its production systems in carbon dioxide by 22% of the total targeted reduction for the Kingdom until 2030. They have also increased their production of desalinated water by 64% during the past three years after establishing, launching, and expanding the number of production systems on the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf coasts while applying the highest international standards in its operations in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives.
SWCC has a total of 32 desalination plants in 17 locations operated and managed by 10,340 employees with Saudization up to 96 percent and several desalination plants under construction with a total production capacity of up to 3.6 million cubic meters per day. Water security is a key challenge for the country, which has invested heavily in seawater desalination, making it the world’s largest producer of desalinated water.
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