Water Desalination Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Technology (Reverse Osmosis (RO), Multi-Stage Flash (MSF), Multi-Effect Distillation (MED), Others), By Source (Sea Water, Brackish Water, Wastewater, Others), By Application (Municipal, Industrial, Others) And Regional Forecast, 2024-2032

Water Desalination is a technique using which impurities and excess salts are removed from the water making it safe to use for various applications. Seawater, wastewater, or brackish water can be purred using this technique. The rising water demand across each region, owing to the rising population is one of the major reasons for the increasing adoption of water desalination plants. As per the report by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the global population is expected to rise from the current 7.7 billion to 9.7 billion in 2050.

The various techniques used for water purification include thermal and membrane processes. Water scarcity is one of the important issues to be looked upon in coming years, as only 3% of usable water is present on earth. Currently, desalination accounts for 1% of the drinking water across the globe. Apart from this, the other factors which are expected to drive the market growth are rising consumer awareness regarding clean water, regulations for water conservation and consumption, and increasing urbanization.

The global water desalination market is segmented based on technology into reverse osmosis (RO), multi-stage flash (MSF), multi-effect distillation (MEF), and others. Reverse osmosis is the most adopted technique for water purification as it does not involve the addition of any other chemical to the incoming water and still produces the water that is fit to be consumed by the removal of dissolved salts.

Based on source, the market is segmented into seawater, brackish water, wastewater, and others. In recent years the wastewater treatment plants have gained pace in adoption across the globe as it is said to be one of the major requirements of the modern world with a huge junk population expected to reside in the urban sector in coming years.  

Based on application the market is segmented into municipal, industrial and other. As municipal systems are the suppliers of usable water to most of the people and the safety level of water is maintained by the governments, the municipal sector accounts for a lion's share of the market.

The key market driver is the increasing population around the world which eventually increases the freshwater demand from each sector such as municipal, industrial, and other application sectors. Also, the rising water concerns have led to an increase in the number of wastewater treatment plants which has positively driven the market growth.

The key market restraint which can act as a blockade to the growth of the water desalination market is the high capital required for the construction of desalination plant and the requirement of continuous maintenance to assure smooth working of the whole system.   

Key Players Covered:

Some of the key market players include ACCIONA, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, Veolia, SUEZ, IDE Technologies, Hatenboer-Water, Aqua Filsep Inc, Mitsubishi Power, Aquatech International, Genesis Water Technologies, and Biwater Holdings Limited.

Regional Analysis:

The water desalination market is studied across five regions namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. The Middle East and Africa have been the front runner in the market with huge demand for water in the region and lack of freshwater resources. The factor such as rising immigration, urbanization, increasing number of tourists per year, and a rising population have together led to the growth of the water desalination market in the region. Further, Asia Pacific holds immense growth opportunities with a rising population in the region and expansion of the application sectors. In North America the stringent government regulations regarding potable water usage are expected to drive the demand for desalination, also regulatory incentives by the government will attract investments for the desalination plants.

Segmentation

Key Industry Developments

• In January 2021, Saudi Arabia’s National Water Co. (NWC) signed a USD 5.36 million two-year contract with a French utility company to reduce the amount of water lost during the Kingdom’s water production process.


• In October 2020, IDE Technologies was awarded an EPC contract by Aguas Pacífico SpA for the Aconcagua Desalination Plant. The scope of the project includes the engineering, supply, construction, start-up, and commissioning of a seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant. The plant is expected to have a nominal production capacity of 86,400 m3/day (1,000 litres per second), which will be located in the bay of Quintero in the Valparaíso Region, Chile. The plant will be the first drought-proof source of fresh water in the Aconcagua basin to serve municipal, agricultural, industrial, and mining clients in the region.