Cutting-Edge Facility Generates Pure Water and Hydrogen Fuel from Seawater for Mere Pennies

Cutting-Edge Facility Generates Pure Water and Hydrogen Fuel from Seawater for Mere Pennies

One might call the first three weeks of operations for a new, state-of-the-art seawater desalination plant in coastal China a ‘watershed’ moment for the industry. Long held back by fundamental difficulties in turning seawater into pure water, this new installation beats out previous flagship desalination plants in Saudi Arabia and California in terms of cost-effectiveness, while adding a new valuable output—green hydrogen fuel. The plant is located in the city of Rizhao, literally meaning ‘sunshine.’ It’s one of China’s most renewably-powered cities, one in which all urban water heaters are powered by solar panels. It was ranked by the UN as one of the most habitable cities in the world in 2009. According to South China Morning Post, reporting on the facility for a Hong Kong audience, for every 800 metric tons of seawater, the system delivers 118,877 gallons of pure fresh water, 192,000 standard cubic meters of green hydrogen fuel, and 350 metric tons of mineral-rich brine for marine che…