Contents


Preface

Water and energy are closely interlinked and interdependent valuable resources that underpin economic growth and human prosperity. In every part of daily life, such as power generation, feedstock crop production, and fossil fuel processing, water is a ubiquitous source. Similarly, energy is vital for powering the water cycle, which includes collection, treatment, and distribution to end users. The mutual vulnerability of water and energy is amplifying due to rising demand because of exponential growth of gross domestic product (GDP), increasing population, and

Global water demand is projected to increase more than 55% by 2050 mainly due to a high GDP growth rate that will increase water demand for manufacturing, power generation, and domestic sector use by 400%, 140%, and 130%, respectively. This current demand trend will place 40% of the world's population at risk of water scarcity by 2050. Presently, more than 19,500 desalination plants in 150 countries

is the most energy-intensive water treatment process, consuming 75.2 TWh or about 0.4% of global electricity per year. **Figure 1** shows the desalination capacities of the world and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and their share of different

of water per year. This number is projected to increase

per year by 2030, which is 40% more compared to 2016. Desalination

climate change.

to 54 billion m3

technologies.

**Figure 1.**

*World desalination capacities [1].*

produce roughly 38 billion m3
