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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

$90,000 MEDRC award for bio-inspired desalination solution

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BUSINESS REPORTER


MUSCAT, NOV 1


MEDRC has announced the recipient of a $90,000 grant under its USAID backed pathway research grants in desalination. Planet, an Italian start-up, has secured the funding to develop their Mangrove Still — a bio-inspired, modular, low-cost easy to use, solar desalination system.


The funds are part of MEDRC’s 5-year strategic programme launched in 2018 with a goal of driving innovation in small-scale desalination.


The programme, known as the Desalination Challenge has two tracks of funding – pathway research grants supported by USAID and a $700,000 global challenge prize known as the Oman Humanitarian Desalination Challenge, led by MEDRCand Oman’s Research Council (TRC) and funded through the Sultan Qaboos Higher Centre for Culture and Science.


MEDRC’s Centre Director Ciaran O Cuinn announced the award and met the grant recipients during a kick-off meeting held online. Speaking at the meeting, he said, “If desalination is to become a viable alternative to freshwater we need to find ways to reduce the costs and environmental impacts of the process. Every day all around us, nature conducts this complex task efficiently with no cost or impact. MEDRC is proud to collaborate with USAID to support Planet as they work to develop bio-inspired transformational solutions to freshwater scarcity.”


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