Lantania Wins International Desalination and Reuse Association Sustainability Award

• The company is recognised for the Jubail 3A desalination plant

Madrid, 12 December 2024. Lantania has been honoured with the International Desalination and Reuse Association (IDRA) Sustainability Award for its outstanding work on the Jubail 3A desalination plant in Saudi Arabia. Recognised in the category of ‘Most Innovative Energy and Water Integration Project’, Jubail 3A stands as one of the largest desalination plants in the world partially powered by solar photovoltaic energy. The facility has set a benchmark with a record-low energy consumption of 2.8 kWh/m³, using seawater sourced from the Persian Gulf.

This award highlights Lantania’s commitment to sustainability and its leadership in developing innovative solutions to tackle global water and energy challenges. Pedro Almagro, CEO of Lantania Agua, accepted the award on Wednesday during the gala dinner at the IDRA World Congress in Abu Dhabi.

The congress, held from 8 to 12 December in Abu Dabi, brought together policymakers, industry experts, funding agencies and developers to address water scarcity, one of the most critical challenges of our time. With a comprehensive technical programme, exhibition space and leadership summit, the event explored solutions in desalination, water reuse and water management. Founded in 1973, IDRA is a non-profit organisation with members in over 60 countries and more than 15 affiliated organisations.

Jubail 3A Desalination Plant

The Jubail 3A desalination plant, located in the city of Jubail in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, was inaugurated in June 2023. Designed to meet the water needs of 1.6 million people across the Eastern Province, Riyadh and Qassim, it produces 600,000 m³ of drinking water per day using seawater from the Persian Gulf.

At the heart of the project lies its innovative and efficient water production system, which integrates 14 km of pipes, multilayer pressure filtration, a double-pass reverse osmosis process with energy recovery and remineralisation using lime slurry, seawater collection and pumping systems, storage for a full day’s water output and an outfall for treated effluent discharge.

Crucially, the facility incorporates sustainability into its design with a 45.5 MWp solar photovoltaic plant. Connected to the high-voltage grid via a 380/33 kV substation and an 11.5 km overhead transmission line, this solar installation meets an average of 20% of the plant’s energy needs, setting a new benchmark for environmentally conscious water production.

The Jubail 3A project forms part of Saudi Arabia’s broader initiative to promote private sector participation in the water sector. Developed with a total investment of $650 million, the project was led by ACWA Power (40,2%), GIC (40%) and AWP (19,8%), with engineering, procurement and construction executed by Power China, Sepco III, Lantania and Cox. The Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC), a state-owned entity, served as the project’s offtaker.