In March 2020, The National reported on the Rethink Brine competition, which put up Dh3.4 million in prizes for ideas to tackle brine from desalination plants. Backers were the social initiative Sandooq Al Watan, Aldar Properties, the utility Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) and the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD). Entrants were asked to cut the brine discharged to sea and to turn it into a raw material for building products. The launch coincided with World Water Day and was meant to support the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036.
The report showed that brine in the Gulf was regarded both as an environmental burden and as a potential raw material, with a regulator, a utility and a developer acting jointly as sponsors.
Source: The National