Belgium’s Sotrad Water honoured with global award in Dubai for solar-powered drinking water innovation

Sotrad Water Srl from Belgium has been named the second runner-up in the Innovative Projects Award (Large Projects category) during the fourth cycle of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award for its Pump&Drink® Hydro1000 initiative, a solar-powered water treatment and distribution solution designed to serve rural communities in Africa and beyond.

Held under the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives and supervised by the UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia UAE), the award celebrates innovative technologies that address global water scarcity using renewable energy. It offers a total prize pool of USD 1 million and supports scalable, sustainable impact.

Sotrad Water’s Pump&Drink® system is a self-contained, solar-powered solution that pumps, treats, stores and distributes water from boreholes. The system is already operational in 22 countries, with over 500 units installed, including 150 in the Ivory Coast during a successful pilot phase in 2020.A full-scale rollout is now under way through 2025.

Each station includes a submersible pump powered by a solar array of eight modules, as well as advanced filtration (50-130 microns) and proportional chlorination for disinfection. Treated water is stored in elevated 8,000-litre tanks, then distributed via gravity-fed taps to serve surrounding communities. The systems do not require a full-time technician and feature remote monitoring capabilitiesusing SMS-based data transmission for real-time performance tracking.

The technology has earned the “Efficient Solution” label from the Solar Impulse Foundation for its sustainable impact. Each station can produce between 10 and 30 cubic metres of clean water per day, depending on local water quality and needs. The EUR 49 million rollout includes 1,150 stations and is supported by regional water committees to ensure ongoing maintenance and local community engagement.

“Solving the global water crisis requires collaboration. We cannot work in solitude or design solutions limited to one location. We must address all water uses, including agriculture, drinking water, wastewater and even cooling in data centres, together. This award acknowledges 15 years of hard work and supports our vision to expand technology transfer. It brings global innovations under one roof, which is a true reflection of Dubai’s spirit. It inspires hope for a future free from water scarcity,” said Raoul Antoine, General Manager of Sotrad Water.