DuPont part of desalination consortium named as semifinalist in XPRIZE Water Scarcity competition
DuPont™ FilmTec™ reverse osmosis elements utilized in project designed to increase efficiency of seawater desalination.
WILMINGTON, Del., May 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- DESAL4ALL, a consortium including DuPont, Acciona, Danfoss and H2O Innovation, has advanced to the semifinals in the XPRIZE Water Scarcity competition in Track A: System-Level Innovation. As global water demand continues to rise, XPRIZE Water Scarcity is focused on accelerating solutions that can help expand access to clean water by advancing new desalination systems, materials, and methods with the potential for real-world deployment.
The DESAL4ALL team is one of 20 teams that are advancing to the Track A Semifinalist round with solutions focused on rethinking desalination systems designed to drive widespread access to clean water by creating reliable, affordable and sustainable seawater desalination solutions.
"Advancing to the XPRIZE Water Scarcity semifinals is an important milestone for the DESAL4ALL consortium and reinforces DuPont's leadership in seawater desalination," said Guillem Gilabert-Oriol, R&D Technical Leader at DuPont Water Solutions. "Showcasing our next‑generation reverse osmosis technology on a global stage—alongside our strategic project partners like Acciona, H2O Innovation and Danfoss—demonstrates how collaboration and innovation can accelerate more energy efficient, scalable solutions to help address global water scarcity."
DESAL4ALL represents a transformative approach to more sustainable seawater desalination by integrating cutting-edge innovations aimed at addressing the industry's most pressing environmental and operational challenges. The latest advancements in FilmTec™ reverse osmosis membrane technology—featuring high flux and high salt rejection—have been paired with the team's low energy pretreatment, innovative arrangement of pressure vessels and high efficiency pumps to advance toward the shared goal to help make seawater desalination more energy efficient.
"DESAL4ALL exemplifies how the innovation process and teamwork can transform desalination, bringing together diverse expertise to develop more efficient and sustainable water treatment solutions," said Mike Sinfield from H2O Innovation. "By combining our expertise with partners who share our vision, we are building smarter, more sustainable solutions that can reduce energy use and help address global water scarcity."
The XPRIZE Water Scarcity competition, sponsored by the Mohamed Bin Zayed Water Initiative, is designed to drive widespread access to clean water by creating breakthrough seawater desalination systems that are reliable, affordable and sustainable. Semifinals testing will take place in 2026, followed by the announcement of Finalists in 2027. Finals Testing will take place from 2027-2028, with winners announced in 2028.
DuPont Water Solutions technologies are helping to purify more than 50 million gallons of water every minute in 112 countries across the world. DuPont offers market-leading technologies to address a variety of challenges faced by water treatment municipalities, seawater desalination plants, and industrial water users, including the microelectronics industry, through a broad portfolio of membranes, resins and complete systems. The team is also innovating solutions that can help balance the world's growing water and energy demands, with products that support the production of electricity, lithium and green hydrogen.
About DuPont
DuPont (NYSE:DD) is a global innovation leader, providing advanced solutions that help transform industries and improve everyday life across our key markets of healthcare, water, construction, and industrial. More information about the company, its businesses and solutions can be found at www.dupont.com. Investors can access information included on the Investor Relations section of the website at investors.dupont.com.
About XPRIZE
XPRIZE is the recognized global leader in designing and executing large-scale competitions to solve humanity's greatest challenges. For over 30 years, our unique model has democratized crowd-sourced innovation and scientifically scalable solutions that accelerate a more equitable and abundant future. Donate, learn more, and co-architect a world of abundance with us at xprize.org.
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