Download PDF
The United States Department of Energy (“DOE”) announced what is described as a “framework” to:
. . . advance transformational technology and innovation to meet the global need for safe, secure, and affordable water.
The initiative is titled “The Water Security Grand Challenge” (“Initiative”). The stated goals of the Initiative include for the United States to reach by 2030:
-
Launch desalination technologies that deliver cost-competitive clean water
-
Transform the energy sector’s produced water from a waste to a resource
-
Achieve near-zero water impact for new thermoelectric power plants, and significantly lower freshwater use intensity within the existing fleet
-
Double resource recovery from municipal wastewater
-
Develop small, modular energy-water systems for urban, rural, tribal, national security, and disaster response settings
DOE states that it will use prizes, competitions, early-stage research and development to obtain these goals.
An agency partner will include the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
A link to the DOE website regarding the initiative can be found here.