DME's assessments rest on a team of experienced experts and an international network - organised by role, so the institute's capability is continuous and independent of any single person.
The roles behind the verdict
- Founder & Director - sets and vouches for the independence standard (currently Claus Mertes).
- Lead Assessor - owns each mandate end to end.
- Membrane & RO Specialist - reverse osmosis, membranes, energy recovery.
- Thermal Process Specialist - MSF, MED and MED-TVC.
- Lenders & Project Finance Advisor - due diligence and lenders advisory.
- Techno-economic Analyst - valuations, feasibility and technology assessment.
- Data & DESALFACTS Lead - links every assessment to the CDT-26 knowledge base.
- Training & Examination Lead - capability building via the Desalination Academy.
Backed by an international expert network, engaged per mandate. This role-based structure is what keeps DME independent - and keeps the promise when people change.
The Team
The people behind the roles. First the active team and experts, the AI assistant last.
Claus Mertes (Founder & Director)
Managing Director & Founder, Desalination Institute DME
Founder of DME in 2003, which he built into an internationally recognised competence platform for desalination: more than 1,000 professionals trained worldwide and around 35 projects delivered in some 15 countries. Over more than 30 years he has worked from inside industry (RWE Group, incl. utility M&A and infrastructure due diligence for Thames Water), in international consulting (Poyry Group) and as founder, advising from pre-feasibility (960 MW power and 225 MIGD desalination capacity, Saudi Arabia) to lenders advisory (150 MLD SWRO, Chennai, for KfW). His work bridges technology and knowledge: around 100 technical publications, some 150 international lectures, and the CDT desalination technology classification (53 technologies), cited by WIPO and the German Bundestag.
Vishant Singh
International Desalination Market Research and Observation
Marcel Salazar (Lead Assessor)
Water Expert, Water Cycle Management & Sustainability
Water and environmental expert with more than 35 years of global experience across the entire water cycle, from resource planning to reuse and zero-liquid-discharge. He has developed and implemented projects and strategies for institutional and industrial clients across Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia, including the Gulf, Central Asia and China. His focus is the holistic integration of water management into sustainability, decarbonisation and climate resilience.
Lars Späth (Lead Assessor)
Water Industry Expert, Civil & Water Engineer (Dipl.-Ing.), Founder
Water industry expert with more than 25 years of international experience in civil, water and environmental engineering. He is specialised in seawater intakes as well as reuse technologies for desalination plants, power and for municipal water. He is widely experienced in business and project development and has led operations across sales, engineering, product development, field services and manufacturing. Core strengths: business development, sales and contract management, negotiation and strategic planning.
Jarvis'o
Artificial Intelligence Assistant, Internet and Database Expert
Jarvis'o is the institute's AI assistant for data work. It gathers, structures and processes information across interfaces, sources and databases, and keeps technology and market data current. Following the institute's principle, machines build, engineers design and experience delivers: Jarvis'o produces and computes at scale, while selection, judgement and responsibility remain with the human team.
Transparency note: Jarvis'o is an artificial intelligence, not a person, and is openly identified as such.
Alumni (Hall of Fame)
- Peter Holtkamp - Strategic business development and advice (Dipl.-Ing.)
- Fatemeh Zohrabi Pour - Office Assistant, Event and Data Management
- Martin Hoza - Internet and Database Expert, Interfaces, Sources and Data Processing
- Amr Fadlalla - International Market Research, Desalination Subject Specialist
- Marina Litke - Accounting and Tax Management (BC WiWi)
- Leni Handelsmann - Master data: RO, ion exchange, biological desalination
- Aws Al-Ethawi - Master data: RO, ion exchange, biological desalination
- Christopher Winter - Master data: membrane distillation, humidification, biological desalination
- Liying Yang - Master data: membrane distillation, humidification, biological desalination
- Yichao Ma - Master data: membrane distillation, humidification, biological desalination
- Illa Syam Prasad - Master data: RO, ion exchange, biological desalination
- Eman Fadlalla - Renewable-driven small desalination systems
- Michael-Jiri Fikacek - Desalination systems for large future power plants