International Desalination Association Again Supports International Water Summit as Knowledge Partner Focuses on Strategies to Enhance Sustainability by Organizing Desalination Sessions

Abu Dhabi, Jan 9, 2014 – (ACN Newswire) – For the second year, the International Desalination Association (IDA) is supporting the International Water Summit (IWS) as a Knowledge Partner for the event. The world’s leading association focused on desalination and water reuse, IDA has organized several sessions that will be presented at the Summit – a unique platform for promoting global collaboration on water sustainability to be held January 20-22 at ADNEC.

With IDA’s support, the 2nd International Water Summit aims to open new opportunities for global leaders, scientists, innovators and environmental experts to work together to make recommendations and improvements within the desalination industry. Hosted by Masdar and in strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA), the IWS is a leading global consortium raising awareness and solving problems linked to water sustainability in arid regions. It is one of the centerpieces of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

Desalination Sessions

Held on January 21-22, the desalination sessions organized by IDA will provide insights on enhancement of energy efficiency in the desalination process including discussions on low energy desalination technologies and their strategic selection with special focus on the GCC region and the evaluation system.

IDA President Dr. Abdullah Al-Alshaikh noted that, “In the last 20 years, the evolution of desalination technologies has significantly reduced energy consumption and the cost of water. Technological innovation – from growth in new technologies to development of renewable sources of energy to power desalination – is the key factor in optimizing water and energy costs worldwide. Increasing energy efficiency remains a goal for the industry as we chart the course to sustainable desalination.”

Dr. Al-Alshaikh will expand on this topic during his Keynote Remarks on “Sustainability: The Driver of Innovation” on Day Two (January 21) of the Summit.

“Some countries in the Gulf rely on desalination to produce 90% or more of their drinking water, and overall this region represents nearly half of the world’s desalinated water capacity,” said Leon Awerbuch. A Director of IDA and President of Leading Edge Technologies, Mr. Awerbuch organized IDA’s involvement in the IWS program. In addition, he will deliver a Keynote Address on evaluating different desalination technologies and will lead the panel discussion on strategic technology selection.

Miguel Angel Sanz, 2nd Vice President of IDA and Director of Development and Innovation at Degremont, will speak on the subject of energy conservation through reverse osmosis desalination. His speech will highlight the importance of considering both water and energy in tandem rather than in isolation – a key platform of IWS and the primary reason for its co-location with the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) for the past two years.

Dr. Corrado Sommariva, immediate Past President of IDA and Managing Director of ILF Consulting Engineers, will speak on renewable energy desalination at the Summit. He is a technical adviser for the new desalination plant being constructed in Fujairah. The plant is a benchmark of new energy efficiency standards as it will produce 3.7 kilowatt hours per cubic meter as compared to the industry standard of 4-6 kilowatt hours per cubic meter.

Desalination and the GCC

According to IDA, the GCC region is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water. Saudi Arabia is the largest country producer, producing 9.2 million cubic meters per day. The UAE is the second largest producer with a daily production rate of 8.4 million cubic meters.

Global Water Intelligence (GWI)/DesalData estimates that the total value of desalination contracts awarded in the GCC in 2013 was approximately $2.7 billion, relating to 1.9 million m3/d of additional capacity. Over the next five years a further $11.7 billion is expected to be spent on desalination plants in the region, adding a total of 8.4million m3/d of new capacity.

About IDA

The International Desalination Association (www.idadesal.org) is a non-profit association that serves more than 2,400 core members in 60 countries and reaches an additional 4,000 affiliate members. Its membership comprises scientists, end-users, engineers, consultants and researchers from governments, corporations and academia. IDA is associated with the United Nations as part of a growing international network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

About International Water Summit

IWS 2014, hosted by Masdar, is a global platform that hosts world leaders, government organizations, policymakers, public and private sector investors, business leaders, consultants and water experts to interact, negotiate and finalise plans to develop diverse and sustainable water portfolios in the GCC and other regions.

The inaugural edition of International Water Summit 2013, hosted by Masdar with the strategic Partnership of ADWEA, was attended by over 4700 attendees from 75 countries and contributed significantly to addressing global water issues such as water scarcity in Arab regions, sustainable growth and economic development in arid regions, the future challenges of water availability and cross-boundary collaboration through international water governance and the water – energy nexus.

IWS 2014, from 20-22 January 2014, is co-located with World Future Energy Summit, also hosted by Masdar, as a part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), a global platform that addresses the interconnected challenges that affect the widespread acceleration and adoption of sustainable development and renewable energy. For more information about the International Water Summit, visit:www.iwsabudhabi.com.

Contact:

Dania Ghalayini

Reed Exhibitions

Email: dania.ghalayini@reedexpo.ae

T: +971 2 491 7615

Nathan Wilson

Asda'a Burson-Marsteller

E: nathan.wilson@bm.com

T: +971 2 6334 133

For further Information on IDA, please contact:

Ann Seamonds

Email: seamonds@seamonds.com

Mobile +1-978-764-5528