• Coxabengoa Group’s water division, Abengoa Water transfers the completed plant to the customer, after announcing the entry into commercial operation of Taweelah phase two in April 2023, and phase one in June 2022.
• The Taweelah plant has successfully passed rigorous final performance tests, marking the start of commercial operation of the full plant (phase one + phase two) at full production, a crucial step prior to delivery to the customer. For a continuous period of 30 days, the plant has been operating without interruption, with full availability of its 200 MIGD and always serving the demand of the population through the system operator.
• It is the largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in the world in operation (909,218 m³/day), and stands out for its exceptional energy efficiency, with specific consumption lower than expected.
• It is the first reverse osmosis desalination plant in the Emirate to combine the production of drinking water with the generation of clean energy thanks to a photovoltaic solar field of more than 70 MWp of power.

The water division of the Coxabengoa Group, Abengoa Water, has successfully completed the final tests of the commercial operation phase of the complete Taweelah desalination plant (phase one + phase two), the largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in the world, located in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), with a production of 909,218 m3/day. For 30 consecutive days the plant has passed the final performance tests, demonstrating its capacity by desalinating 204 MIGD in a single day, exceeding the planned capacity by 2%. Upon successful completion of the final contractual tests, the plant has been handed over to the client, the project company called “Taweelah RO Desalination Company LLC”, formed by the Emirati companies TAQA and Mubadala; as well as ACWA Power, also acting as Promoter in this contract, a leading company in the development, investment, ownership and operation of power generation and desalinated water production plants.

The Taweelah desalination plant produces a total of 909,218 m³/day, making it the world’s largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in production. Taweelah guarantees supply to the city of Abu Dhabi (approximately four and a half million people) throughout the year. It is also the emirate’s first large-scale plant to combine the production of drinking water with the generation of clean energy, thanks to the installation of a photovoltaic solar field with a capacity of more than 70 MWp. This solar field, in turn, gives Taweelah the possibility of becoming self-sufficient in a sustainable manner and reducing its dependence on fossil fuels. This project, located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, is part of the plan developed by the government of the United Arab Emirates to encourage private participation in the development of the country’s infrastructures.

Abengoa Water’s scope of work for the Taweelah project included design, engineering, supply of the main equipment, supervision of assembly, commissioning of the reverse osmosis and post-treatment systems, advice on the pre-treatment processes carried out by third parties and operation of the plant until handover to the client. All in all, the Taweelah desalination plant meets each one of the drinking water parameters required by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, including hardness, alkalinity, LSI (Langelier Saturation Index), SDI (Silt density Index), pH and boron content.

Coxabengoa Group’s desalination portfolio

The Coxabengoa Group has once again demonstrated its capacity to develop complex projects from a technical point of view, and to adapt to adverse working conditions in very diverse countries, providing an optimum response to the client’s requirements. It has also consolidated its position as a leading company in the desalination sector worldwide, and strengthened its presence in the Middle East, where it has a very extensive portfolio: in Saudi Arabia, Rabigh III (600,000 m³/day) and Shuaibah III (250,000 m³/day), all completed; Dubal (47,750 m³/day), in the United Arab Emirates, in operation; and Salalah (114,000 m³/day), in Oman, also completed.

Taweelah, Desalination Plant of the Year 2023

The Taweelah desalination plant has been recognized as the desalination plant of the year 2023 at the Global Water Awards, organized annually by the prestigious water industry publication Global Water Intelligence (GWI). Taweelah represents a historic step towards the decarbonization of the emirate’s desalination system, as recognized by the organization, thanks to the use of a solar photovoltaic plant to supply more than 30 % of its energy, reducing Abu Dhabi’s carbon footprint by 2.5 million tons of CO₂ per year, marking the beginning of a new era of sustainable desalination.