14 Nov MEDRC Open Application Window for Oman Humanitarian Desalination Challenge
MEDRC Water Research and The Research Council, Oman have today announced the opening of the online application window for the Oman Humanitarian Desalination Challenge Prize.
Officially launched in March 2018, with the support of the Sultan Qaboos Higher Center for Culture and Science, the $700,000 prize will be awarded to the person or team delivers a hand-held, stand-alone, low-cost, desalination device suitable for short-term use and rapid deployment in the event of a humanitarian crises.
Applicants are being asked to register through the official challenge website www.desalinationchallenge.com. The closing date for registration is February 28th, 2019. Once initial registration forms have been received and reviewed for completeness, MEDRC will announce the official list of qualified entries. Competitors will then be given 7 months to build their device and submit a written narrative along with an accompanying video of their device in operation, in August, 2019.
A winning device will need to match the following criteria:
• Low Cost: The estimated production cost of the device will be $20
• Hand Held: The device will be hand held and easily transportable
• Easy to Use: Easy to operate following simple instructions
• Robust: Resilient, Corrosion resistant, long shelf life, limited use of small parts that could be lost
• Short term use: Operate for a minimum of 30 days
• Easily transportable: Light weight without water inside
• Rate of production: Device will produce a minimum of 3 liters of purified water per day
• Stand alone: No additions of chemicals, fuel, or other external materials
• Quality: Device will purify 100 NTU, 35,000 mg/L seawater to 1000 mg/L TDS and meet WHO maximum contaminant levels.
In parallel and in support of this initiative, USAID are partnering with MEDRC on a second track of funding. This will support a new Desalination Challenge Research Call supporting pathway research, aimed at the delivery of a family sized desalination unit. It is envisaged that in addition to reducing pressure on existing water supplies in the developing world, this unit will act as a precursor to the successful delivery of the individual device that the Oman Humanitarian Desalination Challenge looks for. MEDRC aim to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) call for the pathway research grants, through this website in January, 2019.
www.desalinationchallenge.com for further details