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Dr. Jeffrey McCutcheon Advances to 3rd Competition Phase in the National Solar Desalination Contest

As reported by the Department of Energy in April 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $5 million in new funding for the second round of the American-Made Challenge: Solar Desalination Prize, a competition designed to accelerate the development of systems that use solar-thermal energy to purify water with very high salt content. Dr. Jeffrey McCutcheon was one of eight semifinalists that will advance to the third competition phase.

Dr. Jeffrey McCutcheon advanced to the third competition phate

Dr. McCutcheon’s team will integrate a newly developed ceramic membrane technology with a solar collector system to treat high-salinity or chemically complex brines. The ceramic membranes provide thermal and chemical stability that enable them to process challenging saline waters, operate at higher temperatures than existing polymeric membranes, and be more aggressively cleaned when fouled by scaling salts and organics. The team will be developing their pilot for deployment at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Water Treatment Plant in El Paso, Texas.

The teams selected to advance to the third phase will receive $250,000 in cash and a $100,000 voucher that can be redeemed at a National Laboratory and/or qualified partner facilities to design their systems.

We support and look forward to the next phase of this competition and wish Jeff and his team much success.  Should Jeff and his team advance to the fourth and final phase of the competition, he will be awarded a cash prize of $750,000 and another $100,000 voucher. The final phase teams will then build their systems, demonstrate their operation, and validate key performance metrics. At the end of the competition, DOE will determine the winner, who will receive a $1 million cash prize.

As reported by the Department of Energy in April 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $5 million in new funding for the second round of the American-Made Challenge: Solar Desalination Prize, a competition designed to accelerate the development of systems that use solar-thermal energy to purify water with very high salt content. Dr. Jeffrey McCutcheon was one of eight semifinalists that will advance to the third competition phase.

Dr. McCutcheon’s team will integrate a newly developed ceramic membrane technology with a solar collector system to treat high-salinity or chemically complex brines. The ceramic membranes provide thermal and chemical stability that enable them to process challenging saline waters, operate at higher temperatures than existing polymeric membranes, and be more aggressively cleaned when fouled by scaling salts and organics. The team will be developing their pilot for deployment at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Water Treatment Plant in El Paso, Texas.

The teams selected to advance to the third phase will receive $250,000 in cash and a $100,000 voucher that can be redeemed at a National Laboratory and/or qualified partner facilities to design their systems.

We support and look forward to the next phase of this competition and wish Jeff and his team much success.  Should Jeff and his team advance to the fourth and final phase of the competition, he will be awarded a cash prize of $750,000 and another $100,000 voucher. The final phase teams will then build their systems, demonstrate their operation, and validate key performance metrics. At the end of the competition, DOE will determine the winner, who will receive a $1 million cash prize.

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