Global Innovation in Water Prize Announces 2025 Winners

Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia :

The city of Jeddah hosted a milestone global gathering today as it unveiled the winners of the third edition of the Global Prize for Innovation in Water, an internationally recognized competition celebrating transformative breakthroughs in water science and technology. The announcement was made during the opening ceremony of the fourth Innovation Driven Water Sustainability Conference (IDWS2025), attended by leading researchers, innovators, policymakers, and industry leaders from around the world.

This year’s awards marked the culmination of a highly competitive cycle, drawing exceptional submissions from research institutions, universities, and technology companies worldwide. After an extensive multi-stage evaluation process, 14 outstanding innovators were named winners, earning their place among the most influential contributors to global water sustainability. With a total prize pool of USD 10 million, the award reinforces its position as one of the world’s most significant incentives for advancing water-related innovation.

At the heart of the ceremony were the two prestigious Grand Prizes:

• Grand Impact Award: HanQing Yu from China, honored for a groundbreaking solution demonstrating large-scale applicability and measurable societal impact.

• Grand Discovery Prize: Guihua Yu from the United States, recognized for pioneering scientific discovery with the potential to redefine future water technologies.

Alongside the Grand Prize laureates, 12 innovators were celebrated across the program’s specialized award tracks. The winners represented a diverse group of countries and fields, including:

• United Kingdom: Charlie Norton, Premlal Balakrishna Pillai, Omar Daoud, Felipe Torres

• Hong Kong, China: Jianan Gao

• United States: John Gradek, Hamidreza Samouei, Andrew Schevets

• Spain: Elena Campos, Ines Larrea

• Turkey: Walid Soufi

• Saudi Arabia: Abrar Zafar

The winners were selected from 36 finalists representing 22 countries, each advancing novel solutions aligned with the sector’s most urgent challenges. Their innovations addressed six critical tracks central to the future of global water sustainability:

• Advanced Water Production Technologies

• Water Quality Enhancement and Reuse

• Circular Treatment and Zero Liquid Discharge Solutions

• Digital Modeling, Process Optimization, and Automation

• Sustainable Water Production and Environmental Protection

• Cost-Efficient Wastewater Treatment Technologies

The international jury panel—comprising 28 distinguished experts from 12 countries—commended the exceptional quality of this year’s submissions. They highlighted that the winning projects demonstrated not only scientific and technological excellence but also strong economic viability and the potential to deliver real-world environmental impact. Many of the selected innovations present promising pathways to addressing the escalating global challenges of water scarcity, rising demand, and climate-related strain on water resources.

The ceremony in Jeddah celebrated not only the achievements of this year’s winners but also the growing momentum of global collaboration in advancing sustainable water solutions. It underscored the award’s mission to transform promising research into practical technologies that safeguard the planet’s most vital resource.