CULVER CITY, CA, May 12, 2026 – XPRIZE, the world's leader in designing and operating large-scale incentive competitions to solve humanity's grand challenges, today announced the Semifinalist Teams advancing to the next stage of the $119 million XPRIZE Water Scarcity competition, made possible by The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, 20 teams in Track A System-Level Innovation will be awarded $5 million in total and 17 teams in Track B Novel Materials and Methods will be awarded up to $300,000 in total. The first-of-its-kind 5-year global competition is designed to drive widespread access to clean water by scaling seawater desalination solutions to be more reliable, affordable, and sustainable so they can address the looming global water scarcity threat facing humanity.
Everyone on the planet is experiencing some form of water stress. Across the world, 80% of the global population faces severe water scarcity, and by 2030, we will lack 40% of the water needed to meet global needs. Although the desalination industry is mature and growing, it has seen few major breakthroughs since the early 2000s. XPRIZE Water Scarcity is driving innovation to exponentially increase access to more reliable, sustainable, and affordable desalination solutions to address the mounting global water scarcity crisis.
“With XPRIZE Water Scarcity, we are reimagining what’s possible for millions of people who still lack access to safe and reliable water, by unlocking bold, transformative solutions to ensure clean water is available worldwide,” said Anousheh Ansari, CEO of XPRIZE. “The progress of the Semifinalist teams represents the next stage in the development of scalable, energy-efficient, and cost-effective desalination solutions—innovations designed to address gaps in a universal human need in communities that need it most.”
Semifinalist teams advanced through a rigorous judging process during Qualified Teams Testing and were evaluated for technical merit, feasibility, and operational performance.
- Track A: System-Level Innovation: Teams are rethinking how desalination systems are designed and delivered, simplifying architectures to reduce energy use, cost, and environmental impact. Many are enabling new deployment models, from modular and distributed systems to offshore and renewable-powered configurations, while integrating smarter controls to enhance reliability and make desalination more efficient, adaptable, and ready for deployment at scale. These efforts have demonstrated fully integrated systems capable of producing approximately 1,000 liters of clean water per day over a two-week testing period, among additional required performance and reporting standards.
- Track B: Novel Materials and Methods: Teams are advancing the next generation of desalination by developing novel materials and new separation approaches that reduce cost while improving reliability and sustainability. Many are designing advanced materials and methods that offer higher performance (including improvements in selectivity, permeability, and recovery), along with greater durability and reduce energy consumption. These efforts have demonstrated strong results at the laboratory scale and point to breakthroughs that could reshape the future of desalination.
“XPRIZE Water Scarcity is redefining what is possible in a field long constrained by cost, energy intensity, and environmental impact,” said Lauren Greenlee, Executive Vice President of Food + Water + Waste, XPRIZE. “This Semifinalist announcement marks a significant milestone of the competition’s first physical testing stage. As we advance to the next phase, this cohort reflects a growing movement toward scalable, adaptive, and resource-efficient seawater desalination systems.”
"Global water scarcity is one of the defining challenges of our time, and The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative is committed to accelerating the development and deployment of transformative solutions to this emerging crisis. Our partnership with XPRIZE reflects our conviction that advancing next-generation desalination technologies that are more affordable, scalable, and sustainable is not a distant ambition but an achievable mission. We are proud to be supporting the innovators now advancing to the semifinal stage, whose work is creating tangible opportunities to turn scientific possibilities into real-world impact for communities worldwide." Ayesha Al Ateeqi, Executive Director of The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative.
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.
After completing a year of rigorous testing, the winners at the end of the competition will receive one of the largest incentive prizes ever launched globally based on successfully demonstrating the following:
- For Track A, $40 million will be awarded to the winning team with additional prizes being awarded to runners-up and select teams recognized through Moonshot Awards for exceptional performance in key environmental and system-level metrics.
- For Track B, $8 million will be awarded to the winning team that pioneers a novel, durable desalination material or method capable of operating for at least 10 years.
The competition is a realization of the vision of its title sponsor, The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, to support creativity and innovation aimed at addressing the threat of global water scarcity. Through its global programs and activities, the Initiative works to accelerate innovation, raise awareness, and support the development, testing, and deployment at scale of solutions that can help create a world in which water is accessible, affordable, and sustainable for all.
