
How NEOM will change the future of water
Our planet is also known as the blue planet since water covers more than 70% of its surface. Water is life.
Without water, there would not be any kind of life on earth. Access to a water supply has always been seen as one of the most significant goals in human history.
Population growth, climate change, water stress and limited water resources increase pressure on water demand.
Being traditional is not a solution. We need to challenge and figure out innovative solutions to solve these increasing problems.
NEOM is a linear city stretching 170 km located in Saudi Arabia, northwest along the shores of the red sea with no roads, no cars and no pollution which will be a civilization revolution with houses over a million people.
The question to be asked
How do we produce water in the middle of the desert? And the answer should include an innovative solution to produce sustainable freshwater with low cost and acceptable on both economic and industrial scales, minimizing waste and limiting pollution.
NEOM seeks to create a sustainable water ecosystem based on circular economy concepts and connected smart infrastructure.
A commitment to zero liquid discharge (ZLD) into the environment support this aim, lowering the cost of water production while increasing its impact and benefit for the planet’s future.
NEOM water projects
NEOM’s Vision is to manufacture carbon-free products using innovative technology and renewable energy, while also building a systematic understanding of circularity through desalination and seawater mining, also known as brine processing.
A state-of-the-art water desalination plant that produces zero liquid discharge and captures brine for use in several ways, as well as a water research Centre to discover new ways to use brine, such as producing new buildings and product materials, are among the water projects developed by NEOM.
NEOM is also exploring new approaches to build alternative desalination technologies using concentrated solar power (CSP).
Why desalination?
Simply because freshwater supplies are extremely limited and face a variety of threats, prompting the search for alternative sustainable water resources.
That is why desalination is booming. The number of seawater desalination plants in operation worldwide has doubled since the early 2000s with a total of 173 countries running desalination plants.
Desalination in NEOM
The main concept of water desalination is to separate salts from seawater and generate freshwater that is ready for different uses.
Till now there are two methods to generate fresh water from seawater: thermal desalination and RO desalination.
Thermal desalination: this is a conventional method of producing fresh water in which salt water is heated and then vaporized to produce fresh water.
RO desalination: is the most widely utilized technology nowadays.
To separate the salts from water, salt water is pumped through a semi-permeable membrane under high pressure where the salts remain behind the membrane, and freshwater passes and collects for use.
This method uses less energy than thermal desalination, while both of them are high-cost economically and environmentally.
The main issue of desalination is the by-product of the desalination process (hypersaline brine).
NEOM will innovate sustainable and renewable desalination processes.
Where a great seawater desalination facility combined with brine processes.
It seeks to feed the entire NEOM region using advanced high-recovery reverse osmosis membrane technology.
These advances will allow for a >60% recovery and, after 10 years, will be capable of processing up to 1,000,000 m3 of water per day.
This project is divided into two phases where the first phase is targeting to generate 333,000 m3 per day by 2021 and the second phase targets to generate 1,000,000 m3 per day by 2023.
Concentrated solar power Desalination plants

Concentrated Solar Power Desalination plants are a great technique that provides a sustainable approach to seawater desalination using only the sun as the energy source.
Concentrated Solar Power systems work by concentrating the sun’s solar energy onto a collector, which then converts it to heat.
The heat is subsequently turned into steam, which powers a turbine that generates electricity.
Thermal energy storage devices can be used by Concentrated Solar Power plants to store power until it is needed, such as during periods of low sunlight or during the night.
Concentrated Solar Power is a flexible renewable energy source because of its capacity to store energy.
This power can be used to generate highly effective reverse osmosis by using solar panels.
The concentrated solar power desalination plant is considered an innovative technology as it is a carbon-neutral process, creating an endless supply of solar water and there is no burning of fossil fuels and emitting of greenhouse emissions.
Solar dome desalination
A solar dome is a sphere formed by a glass and steel dome rising 25m into the air, which covers a cauldron of roughly the same size.
This technology is developed by the UK-based company solar water in association with Cranfield University.
The theory behind it is simple. Seawater is piped through a glass-enclosed aqueduct system, which feeds the water with sunlight as it travels into the dome.
An array of parabolic mirrors concentrates the solar radiation onto the dome.
This superheats the seawater in a cauldron where it evaporates.
As a result, highly pressurized steam is released and condenses as freshwater which is then piped to reservoirs and irrigation channels.
The solar water dome technology can be summarized in 4 processes that include:
1-Intake
Seawater is pumped into the stainless-steel solar dome via a natural pre-treatment intake system.
2-Concentration of solar energy
Solar power is concentrated using a system of reflector mirrors to provide the needed levels of thermal energy.
3-Freshwater production from seawater
The heat is then directed to the seawater within the dome, causing it to evaporate and later condense into drinking water.
4-Use of freshwater
Freshwater can be used for several applications.
The solar dome is meant to produce 30,000 cubic meters per hour at an extremely low cost of 34 cents per cubic meter.
Where all of this technology is 100% carbon neutral.
Salt extraction plants
Desalination has the advantage of concentrating seawater by increasing the volume of chemicals present and salt in it.
Salt extraction is required to ensure that no brine water is dumped into the sea.
The brine water that is pumped back to the sea or ocean is denser than seawater which may damage the ecosystem as it spikes salt content and causes oxygen levels to plummet.
NEOM will be doing it on a commercial scale with the salt, using equipment evaporators.
Other components in NEOM, such as sodium hydroxide and gypsum, have industrial applications for example sodium hydroxide will be used to produce glass.
this project will be developed in three phases where the first phase targets to produce 133,000 m3 per day by 2022, and the second phase will use new technology on a modular basis by 2024 while the project will end by 2030.
Wastewater treatment
The sustainable and innovative management approach of NEOM is to collect, treat and reuse all wastewater.
About 250,000 m3 of water per day will be treated in energy-efficient and self-sustaining Water Recycling and Recovery Plants with 2500 km of smart Sewage Collection Networks.
Wastewater will be recycled and used for irrigation. Such projects are expected to be delivered during the next 5-10 years.
NEOM is determined to recover all of the resources from wastewater and biosolids, including cellulose, nutrients, grit and biogas.
They’ll be utilized for landscaping, agriculture, building and energy conservation.
NEOM is targeting to be a global leader in wastewater management by following such strategies:
1-100% wastewater collection and treatment.
2-There is no water runoff into the NEOM.
3-hundred percent reuse of wastewater.
4-Energy and material recovery maximized.
5-Outstanding and innovative design.
NEOM potable water storage project
This project will locate a water reservoir with great capacity as it will be capable to meet the demand for up to five days at strategic sites across the network.
The majority of these reservoirs are large concrete constructions with storage capacities of over 100,000 m3.
Groundwater in NEOM
The main point of not extracting groundwater in NEOM is to stop bringing water to the surface.
The Well of Moses has filled with water about a hundred years ago.
It is now empty since the groundwater level has decreased to the point that there is no longer water in it.
And, if you look at the amount of water extracted from the ground inside the NEOM area, it is roughly 50,000 cubic meters per day across 65 or 80 wells, plus another hundred wells that we are unaware of.
As a result, the groundwater level will rise to the surface in the future.
This means that grass will begin to grow everywhere and trees will become greener since they can now reach the ground level of water, something they have not been able to accomplish for the last 50 years or so.
NEOM wishes to return to a green environment by ceasing water extraction and, of course, using recovered wastewater as landscaping irrigation.
Water transmission pipeline, pumping and storage

Approximately 600km of big diameter (DN 700 to DN 2200) carbon steel pipe, associated valves, equipment, utility, and pipeline culverts are required for NEOM water transmission.
By the end of 2024, up to 20 pumping stations will be commissioned and delivered and six big water reservoirs (and other large storage tanks) with a total storage capacity of 6,000,000 m3 will be provided during the next four years.
All water assets will be smart and capable of real-time monitoring and control.
Water transmission pipes and pumps will transport water from current and future coastal desalination facilities to the various regions of NEOM: coastal, desert and mountain zones.
For much of its length, a permanent carbon steel pipe will be encased in culverts.
Green hydrogen technology
Green hydrogen technology is a process by which hydrogen is created by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable energy.
Zero-liquid discharge water technology and 100% renewable energy will be used to manufacture low-cost bulk hydrogen, as well as a variety of additional products obtained from wastewater and water treatment.
The major goal of the NEOM project is to keep the cost of hydrogen and water generation as low as possible while taking advantage of natural competitive advantages.
Integrated hydrogen and chemical processing are at the core of the NEOM energy and water nexus, executing full seawater processing simultaneously with hydrogen production.
This comprises desalination with high recovery, which uses less energy and is based on zero liquid discharge (ZLD) water technologies.
This produced hydrogen will be used in different applications such as it can be used as hydrogen fuel, can be used for cooking and heating within homes and for greenish water ammonia production.
Water distribution network
The water distribution network in most areas throughout the world is weak or old.
And because it’s so old, about 30-60% of the water has evaporated or been lost through leakage.
NEOM is aimed to have a smart network that uses an artificial intelligence system to detect leakage.
As NEOM will use cutting-edge predictive leakage detection, predictive maintenance, anomaly detection and automated root-cause analysis tools to reduce leakage to less than 3%.
Water flow, volume, temperature, water quality and pressure management zones will also be included in the smart network. Which will ensure minimal water loss.
The NEOM’s Innovation Hub

The NEOM Innovation Hub will host Centers of Excellence for applied and commercial research for water-related R&D projects.
NEOM is now concentrating on renewable-powered advanced saltwater desalination, zero waste and recovered water reuse.
Long-term goals include improved water recycling treatment, brine processing, smart sensors, smart water usage, industrial demand reduction procedures and stormwater harvesting.
Smarter waste management
Biosolids or sludge are the primary “waste” from typical wastewater treatment.
As a nutrient-rich dense organic material with the potential for nutrient and energy recovery, this is also the primary resource.
NEOM Wastewater intends to establish best practices in biosolids management from the ground up, with a heavy emphasis on capitalizing on the regional demand for land application and energy-neutral processes through Water Recycling and Recovery Plants (WRRPs).
How can NEOM change the future of the water?
Now it’s time to answer this question. NEOM will provide new technologies and innovative solutions that are acceptable on both economic and industrial scales.
It will be the first time that desalination is done entirely with renewable energy and without any effluent returning to the sea, resulting in zero liquid discharge.
It will be the first time that full brine processing is carried out; not only will recycle 100 percent of the water, but NEOM will also do biosolids treatment.
That means no liquid discharge and no solid discharge because the solids in waste treatment plants will be converted to fertilizer.
NEOM will transform the biomes and generate energy from them to develop self-sustaining energy.
From start to finish, the process will be world-first by utilizing such an efficient method that looks at water in such an effective manner with a fully circular economy in mind.
It will also be the first time in history that mineralized water, effectively eliminates the need for bottled water in NEOM.
Finally, NEOM will be a test case for other water-scarce countries to generate an environmentally safe and sustainable source of fresh water.
References
[1] This is how Saudi Arabia’s NEOM is working towards sustainable water management and treatment, Sep 24, 2021 [online] Available at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/renewables/this-is-how-saudi-arabias-neom-is-working-towards-sustainable-water-management-and-treatment/articleshow/86473108.cms
[2] Solar water [online] Available at: https://www.solarwatercom/our-solution/the-technology/
[3] Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), 04 Mar 2021[online] Available at: https://www.brunel.net/en/blog/renewable-energy/concentrated-solar-power
[4] Concentrated Solar Heat to Desalinate Seawater at Saudi Neom City, February 16, 2020 [online] Available at: https://www.solarpaces.org/concentrated-solar-heat-to-desalinate-seawater-at-saudi-neom-city/
[5] NEOM [online] Available at: https://www.neom.com/en-us/sectors/water
[6] Video [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdFIHecZDfc
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