NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s flagship smart city megaproject, has signed a memorandum of understanding with France’s ENGIE to co-develop innovative technologies for desalination brine management, in a bid to advance sustainable water solutions in arid regions.
The agreement will see both parties collaborate on pilot programs and testing advanced technologies—such as membrane separation and crystallization systems—to extract valuable materials from desalination brine, a concentrated salt by-product typically considered waste.
The partnership underscores NEOM’s ambition to set global benchmarks in sustainable infrastructure, while aligning with ENGIE’s strategy to lead the low-carbon energy transition through innovation.
“Brine management is one of the critical challenges associated with desalination,” said Olivier Sala, ENGIE’s Vice President for Research & Innovation. “By working with NEOM—ambitious in scale and complexity—we are exploring new sustainable avenues that contribute to our broader mission.”
Gavin van Tonder, NEOM’s Managing Director of Water, added: “This partnership supports NEOM’s vision to pioneer sustainable water technologies that reduce environmental impact while accelerating global progress in water resource management.”
The agreement comes amid rising regional demand for desalination and growing scrutiny over the environmental impact of brine disposal. Valorizing brine—by recovering minerals such as magnesium, lithium, or rare earth elements—offers a promising approach to reduce waste and generate economic value.
The ENGIE-NEOM collaboration positions Saudi Arabia at the forefront of brine valorization research, with future scalability across water-stressed regions worldwide.
