Five international prizes went to the Saudi Water Authority (SWA) at the fourth Asian Water Awards and the Asian Power Awards 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, recognising work by its Water Technologies Innovation Institute and Research Advancement (WTIIRA), the Saudi Water Innovation Center (SWIC) and Water Oasis on water technology, resource recovery from desalination waste and energy efficiency.

The Innovation of the Year award went to a project that enriches drinking water with magnesium extracted from seawater, using a nanotechnology-based system applied at large scale for the first time worldwide at phase four of the Al-Shuaiba production system. It has a capacity of 400,000 cubic meters a day and serves more than 1.3 million people.

A Water Technology Excellence Award (Research and Development) honoured a single system that produces sodium hypochlorite for disinfection and high-purity hydrogen from desalination brine while using 25% less energy than conventional systems. A circular economy leadership award recognised a pilot that recovers rubidium chloride from desalination waste at a rate of 89.02% and purity of up to 99.984%, with estimated output of 17.95 kilograms a year and a net present value of about US$831,000 over 10 years.

Water Oasis in Rabigh was named Water Innovation Hub of the Year. Covering more than 33,000 square meters with over 23 advanced laboratories and large pilot plants, it is listed by Guinness World Records as the world's largest water innovation oasis.

SWIC won Collaborative Water Initiative of the Year for Miyahthon, which drew more than 1,300 participants and over 766 ideas, with more than 30 mentors, 10 judges and five universities. Since its launch, SWIC has helped bring 43 water start-ups to market, received more than 400 ideas from over 15 countries and set up three specialised incubators.