Energy Recovery, an American company specializing in manufacturing equipment, announced on Thursday that it has entered into contracts worth USD27.5 million to supply advanced technology and equipment to desalination projects in Morocco, according to a statement issued by the company.
The contracts are scheduled to be fulfilled in 2024, according to the company’s financial guidance.
Morocco has been aggressively pursuing desalination as a means to address water shortages due to persistent droughts that are exhausting the country’s water reserves. The government plans to supply half of the country’s drinking water from desalination plants by 2030.
The projects supported by Energy Recovery will provide over one million cubic meters of potable water per day, to more than 600,000 people across the country.
“Desalination is the only drought-proof source of water,” said Rodney Clemente, Energy Recovery’s Senior Vice President of Water. “It is vital that arid regions around the world such as North Africa secure access to fresh water by investing in a diversified portfolio of water treatment technologies including energy-efficient SWRO.”
SWRO is a process used to desalinate seawater, making it safe for drinking and other uses by removing salt and impurities
The contracts with Morocco include one of the largest desalination projects in North Africa, he said, which will help “close the gap between the existing water supply and Morocco’s growing freshwater demands.”
Energy Recovery’s technology stands out for its ability to reduce energy consumption in desalination by up to 60%, making it one of the most cost-effective solutions on the market, according to the company.
The technology’s beneficial environmental impact is also significant. The company estimates that once the new desalination facilities are operational, its PX devices will prevent more than 475,000 tons of carbon emissions annually, equivalent to removing over 100,000 passenger cars from the road.