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Aims to alleviate the global water crisis with energy-efficient technologies that harvest fresh water from thin air.

WATER ABUNDANCE XPRIZE – APply at water.xprize.org

Water is a key element of life on our planet. More than 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, yet over 780 million people in 43 countries are facing water scarcity due to lack of availability, uneven distribution and access, and contamination. By 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will be living in areas with absolute water scarcity, with 2/3 of the global population living under water stressed conditions.

While opportunities exist to augment currently available fresh water resources, including desalination and wastewater treatment, these approaches have been environmentally destructive and expensive thus far. With over 3 quadrillion gallons of water in the atmosphere, or enough to meet the needs of every person on the planet for a year, atmospheric extraction could revolutionize access to fresh water, generating fresh water where it is currently unavailable or inaccessible.

The Water Abundance XPRIZE challenges teams from around the world to revolutionize access to fresh water by creating a device that extracts a minimum of 2,000 liters of water per day from the atmosphere using 100% renewable energy, at a cost of no more than 2 cents per liter. The Water Abundance XPRIZE will create decentralized access to water, giving people the power to access fresh water, whenever and wherever they need it.

PRIZE PURSE

USD 1,500,000 will be awarded as Grand Prize and the Semi – Finalists will earn a milestone prize totaling USD 250,000.

TIMELINE

Prize launch: October 2016 | Registration deadline: 28th April 2017

Round 1 testing: January 2018

Final testing: July 2018

Grand prize winner announced: August 2018 | Competition timeline: 22 months

SPONSORSTata Group

Founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868, the Tata Group is a global enterprise, headquartered in India, comprising over 100 independent operating companies. The group operates in more than 100 countries across six continents, with a mission ‘To improve the quality of life of the communities they serve globally, through long-term stakeholder value creation based on Leadership with Trust’.

Tata companies bring to their customers worldwide a whole host of reputed brands which touch their lives every day. Tata companies are building multinational businesses that seek to differentiate themselves through customer-centric, innovation, entrepreneurship, trustworthiness and value-driven business operations, while balancing the interests of diverse stakeholders including shareholders, employees and civil society.

Ratan Tata, former Group Chairman, Tata group, is a true believer in India’s potential to solve global problems at an exponential scale, with its abundance of intellectual prowess and tech-savvy minds. He has made a string of personal investments in new ventures which embody the creativity and innovation of young India.

Australian aid – innovationXchange.

In 2015, the innovationXchange (iXc) at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was launched as part of the Australian Aid Program to address the growing need for innovative and transformative solutions for intractable problems facing people living in developing countries. The iXc aims to foster a culture of innovation in our aid program by harnessing new technologies, methodologies, and partnerships. It understands collaboration is pivotal, partnering with other government agencies, the private sector, NGOs, and academics to source new ideas for piloting and experimentation.

Each of the iXc’s development portfolios – health and water, economic growth and humanitarian – challenge convention, seeking new ways to multiply the impact of Australian aid in the Indo-Pacific. The iXc believes it is crucial for all contributors to share lessons learned on development innovations being trialed and will continue to seek opportunities to scale successful pilots.