A revolutionary new facility in China’s Shandong province is transforming the global energy and water landscape. Located in Rizhao city, this groundbreaking plant can convert seawater into both potable drinking water and clean hydrogen fuel for an astonishingly low cost of approximately Rs 24 per cubic metre. Scientists are hailing this innovation as a pivotal moment, while economic analysts predict it will be one of the decade’s most disruptive technological advancements.
The unique process utilizes a single machine to generate two vital resources: ultra-pure drinking water and green hydrogen. Remarkably, it requires only seawater and the abundant waste heat expelled from nearby steel and petrochemical manufacturing operations. This development offers immense promise for regions grappling with severe water shortages and escalating fuel prices, potentially redefining future resource management.
This world-first facility, detailed in reports, operates entirely on seawater and industrial waste heat, repurposing energy that would otherwise be lost. Engineers have ingeniously devised a system that channels this waste heat to power a process yielding fresh water and clean fuel from the ocean. The system’s efficiency is highlighted by its ‘one input, three outputs’ design.
The single input consists of seawater combined with waste heat. From this combination, the system yields three distinct outputs. Firstly, it produces high-quality drinking water. Annually, the facility processes 800 tonnes of seawater to yield 450 cubic metres of ultra-pure water suitable for domestic, laboratory, and industrial use. Secondly, it generates approximately 192,000 cubic metres of green hydrogen each year. As one of the cleanest fuels available, this hydrogen can power a wide range of applications, from public transportation to heavy industry. Thirdly, the process results in 350 tonnes of mineral-rich brine, a valuable byproduct used in the production of marine chemicals, ensuring a zero-waste operation where every output is utilized.