Jeddah has hosted a key international event with the announcement of the winners of the third edition of the Global Prize for Innovation in Water. The announcement took place during the opening ceremony of the fourth Innovation Driven Water Sustainability Conference (IDWS2025), marking the conclusion of a competitive year that attracted wide interest from the global water sector.
During the ceremony, 14 winners were named. Their solutions met the criteria set by the international judging panel. With total prize funding of 10 million dollars, the award recognises work that advances research into practical water technologies.
The two Grand Prizes were presented to HanQing Yu from China, who received the Grand Impact Award, and Guihua Yu from the United States, who received the Grand Discovery Prize.
Alongside the top awards, 12 additional winners were recognised across the prize categories. Winners included Charlie Norton, Premlal Balakrishna Pillai, Omar Daoud and Felipe Torres from the United Kingdom; Jianan Gao from Hong Kong, China; John Gradek, Hamidreza Samouei and Andrew Schevets from the United States; Elena Campos and Ines Larrea from Spain; Walid Soufi from Turkey; and Abrar Zafar from Saudi Arabia.
The ceremony marked the end of a selection phase featuring 36 finalists from 22 countries. Finalists represented universities, research centres, and technology companies. The winning projects covered six priority areas for the future of the water sector: Advanced Water Production Technologies, Water Quality Improvement and Reuse, Circular Treatment and Zero Liquid Discharge Technologies, Digital Models, Process Optimisation and Automation, Sustainable Water Production and Environmental Conservation, and Cost-Effective Wastewater Treatment Technologies.
The international jury, made up of 28 experts from 12 countries, highlighted the strong standard of entries. They noted that the winning innovations demonstrated solid economic potential, environmental benefit, and practical value in addressing water scarcity and climate-related challenges.
