Israel’s Watergen, UAE’s Al Dahra Sign Deal On Water Security

Israel’s Watergen (also Water-gen), the company that developed patented technology that turns air into drinking water, signed a strategic partnership agreement with Al Dahra Holding Company, an Abu Dhabi-based producer of essential animal feed and food products.

The pair will partner in the area of water security, UAE news agency WAM reported on Thursday. The Israeli company’s advanced tech will help provide large quantities of drinking water, as well as water used in the irrigation of farms, parks, reserves, ranches, and remote areas.

The agreement “aims to establish a strategic partnership between the two sides to produce water from air, creating a renewable source of pure water for human and agricultural consumption,” WAM reported.

Founded in 2009, Watergen develops and manufactures a number of water generators including the Gen-M, the Gen-L model, a large atmospheric water generator which can produce up to 5,000 liters (1,320 gallons) of clean water per day, and the Gen-M Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV), which transports Watergen units in emergency situations and natural disasters. Last year, Watergen also rolled out the “Genny,” an at-home water generator capable of producing between 25-30 liters (6.6-7.9 gallons) of water per day. The Solar Genny – powered by solar panels – will become available later this year.

All of Watergen’s units are powered by what it calls heat-exchange GENius tech which creates water by cooling collected air at its dew point. The water goes through physical, chemical, and biological treatment followed by a mineralization process to maintain its cleanliness, taste, and health quality.

According to the agreement between Al Dahra and Watergen, the two parties will establish a permanent center in Abu Dhabi to manufacture and distribute drinking and irrigation water production equipment. The agreement was signed by Khadim Al Darei, vice-chairman and co-founder of Al Dahra Holding Company, and Michael Mirilashvili, CEO and president of Watergen.

The two companies decided on the agreement after a delegation from Al Dahra visited Israel in October 2020, following the UAE-Israeli normalization pact signed in August to encourage cooperation and strategic partnerships between the two countries.

Al Darei said that Al Dahra’s delegation met with representatives of Israeli companies operating in fields like agriculture, water, and technology.

“Amidst the concern for environmental issues around the world, especially in the UAE, environmental indexes are now being prioritized by developed countries. Therefore, Al Dahra aims to find sustainable and comprehensive environmental solutions that will protect the environment and support sustainable development programs in the UAE,” Al Darei said.

Al Darei said Watergen’s technology will enable many sectors to benefit from a renewable water source and create promising economic solutions for providing eco-friendly water, according to WAM.

The Watergen-Al Dahra collaboration will take place over the course of five years. It will be developed and adjusted to accommodate the UAE desert environment.