The PlasmaPure team from the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University has reached the semifinals of XPRIZE Water Scarcity in both technical tracks. It is one of only three teams worldwide to do so and the only one from the Gulf region.
Led by Khaled Mahmoud, Research Director of QEERI’s Water Center, the team works with the University of Montreal and INRS in Canada. In one track it is developing a desalination platform that recovers more water and extracts resources from brine; in the other, shark-skin-inspired reverse osmosis membranes designed for the Gulf’s hot, salty waters.
The competition drew 674 pre-registrations from 86 countries, and 143 teams reached the qualification stage. The semifinals will focus on scaling up and testing the technologies.
