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Water Catalyst Research Grant

Water Catalyst Research Grant

Overview

Advancing water innovation from early-stage research to real-world application

The Water Catalyst Research Grant, launched by the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, supports researchers, innovators and organizations working to advance innovative water technologies at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 1–6.

  • Proof of Concept / Early-Stage Research
  • Prototype Development
  • Testing & Validation
  • Pilot Development & Demonstration

The Grant provides funding to support measurable technical progress across these activities, helping technologies advance towards real-world application.

The Grant is open to applicants worldwide

Open to applicants worldwide, the Grant supports innovative technologies that address critical water challenges, demonstrate clear relevance and potential impact for the UAE and regions with similar conditions. Priority themes include the five areas below. Proposals on other water-related topics are also welcome.

Grant Themes

  1. 01.

    Water Supply, Distribution & Wastewater Management

    Innovations across water and wastewater systems, including irrigation for farming and landscaping.

  2. 02.

    Smart Water Technologies

    Smart technologies that optimize water and wastewater management systems or improve water and wastewater quality testing.

  3. 03.

    Reducing Waste & Wastage Across the Water Cycle

    Solutions that reduce waste across the water cycle, from supply through wastewater management.

  4. 04.

    Energy Efficiency in Water Processes

    Innovations that reduce energy consumption in areas such as desalination, brine management and water reuse.

  5. 05.

    Secondary Uses of Water

    Innovations that enable recycled water to be used in applications such as cooling systems, greenhouses, and artificial fisheries.

What the grant can support

Funding may support activities that directly contribute to measurable technical progress, including:

Proof of Concept / Early-Stage Research

Early-stage research, feasibility studies, and proof-of-concept development to explore and validate innovative water technology ideas.

Prototype and pilot development

Prototype design and construction, components and materials, and pilot-scale systems.

Testing and validation

Laboratory and bench-scale testing, field trials, pilot testing, and third-party testing or certification.

Specialist tools and services

Equipment, instrumentation, and technical expertise directly related to development, testing, or validation.

Applications are open to organizations worldwide (universities, research institutes, SMEs, startups, NGOs and consortia). Individual applicants are not eligible.

Ready to bring your water technology to the next level? Apply now.

Applicant / Organization

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with no fixed submission deadline.

Please use your institutional or corporate email address. If you only have a personal email, a LinkedIn or ORCID profile is required.

Link to the lead applicant’s LinkedIn or ORCID profile.

Type of applicant*

e.g., utilities, water companies, public entities

Number of team members directly involved in the proposed project

Partners involved*

Briefly describe the applicant/team’s previous work and experience relevant to the proposed technology (max. 200 words)

Technology & Problem

Select the theme that best aligns with your technology. If none applies, choose ‘Other’ and specify your topic.

Max. 8 words

Enter 3 to 5 keywords describing your technology, process, or application (e.g., reverse osmosis, membrane fouling, IoT sensors). Use specific terms rather than general ones such as ‘water’ or ‘technology’.

In one sentence, summarise the main objective or key milestone you aim to achieve with the grant.

Describe the specific water challenge that the proposed technology addresses (max. 200 words)

Describe the technology’s relevance to UAE water challenges, potential applications and end users, suitability for local conditions, existing or potential UAE partnerships/pilot opportunities, and expected measurable impact (max. 200 words).
Note: Existing UAE partnerships are not mandatory, but applicants must demonstrate the technology’s relevance to UAE water challenges.

Describe the technology, including how it works, its key components, and its operating principles (max. 1,000 words)

What makes your technology innovative compared with existing technologies or approaches? Identify the current state of the art and, where possible, quantify the key performance advantages (max. 500 words)

Select the TRL that best reflects your technology’s current stage of development.

Describe the specific technical milestone or validation objective that the grant will enable and how this will advance the technology toward the next TRL (max. 200 words)

Testing and Validation*

Provide at least one verifiable item supporting the proposed concept (max. 500 words + supporting files or links).
(e.g., publication or preprint with DOI/link, patent or patent application, preliminary data or modelling results with a brief description of the method, or a link to previous related work by the team)

Testing and Validation: At what scale has the technology been tested (laboratory, bench, prototype, pilot, or field), where was the testing conducted, and for how long? Provide supporting evidence, where available (e.g., test results, technical reports, publications, photographs or videos) (max. 500 words + supporting files)

Where possible, quantify the technology’s expected impact in terms of water, energy, emissions, waste/brine, costs, and environmental and social benefits (max. 200 words)

Pathway to Impact

Description of the target market, customer segments, and the pathway towards market adoption, industrial implementation, or societal deployment (max. 200 words)

How the technology will continue to develop and scale beyond the grant period (max. 100 words)

If applicable (max. 100 words)

Project Implementation

A description of the proposed research activities, including the main tasks, key milestones, expected deliverables, and indicative timeline (max. 200 words).

Proposed project duration

Budget

Enter the total grant amount you are requesting in UAE dirhams (AED).

Explain how the requested grant amount will enable the proposed technical progress and why the requested budget is appropriate (max. 200 words)

A detailed budget of all eligible project costs. Research personnel, lab materials, consumables and modelling costs are eligible. (Provide a table)

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with no fixed submission deadline.

Note: Due to the competitive nature of the grant, only successful applicants will be notified. Applicants selected for funding will be contacted within twelve (12) months of the proposal submission date. If no notification is received within this period, the application should be considered unsuccessful.

Application Submitted Successfully

Thank you for applying to the Water Catalyst Research Grant. Due to the competitive nature of the grant, only successful applicants will be notified within twelve (12) months of the submission date.

If you do not receive the confirmation email, please check your spam or junk folder.

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