Home

Forward Osmosis companies up to 10 years behind, says Modern Water

April 3, 2013

A British company which is operating the world’s first commercial scale Forward Osmosis drinking water desalination plant in Oman has said that global competition could be as much as ten years behind...

Tom Freyberg

British company Modern Water which has the worldâs first commercial scale Forward Osmosis (FO) drinking water desalination plant up and running in the Middle East has said that global competition could be as much as ten years behind.

The company trialled its FO technology at a 18 m3/day plant in Gibraltar, before rolling it out to a 100 m3/day plant at Al Khaluf in Oman.

It was then at the end of 2012 when the company announced its 200 m3/day plant at Al Najdah, with Omanâs Public Authority for Electricity & Water in what was called âthe worldâs first commercial FO desalination plantâ.

In an exclusive interview with Water & Wastewater International (WWi) magazine, executive chairman Neil McDougall said: âIn terms of forward osmosis for desalination purposes, we are years ahead of anybody else â at least five if not 10 years ahead.

âThereâs nobody that Iâm aware of, particularly for drinking water purposes who have anything like we have. Nobody else has a large scale plant. Our technology is fully protected â we have over 99 patents now. It would be very difficult for somebody to try and catch up to where we are.â

The company was formed in 2006 after taking the FO technology concept from the University of Surrey with the aim of developing it on a commercial scale. Since then it has been applying its FO technology to industrial water in Kuwait and has signed an agreement with Chinaâs Hangzhou Water.

- A full interview with Modern Waterâs executive chairman Neil McDougall will appear in the April-May edition of WWi magazine. To sign up for your free copy, please click here.

Forward osmosis: is China next to shake up the desalination sector?

Second forward osmosis facility completed in Oman

About the Author

Tom Freyberg

Tom Freyberg is an experienced environmental journalist, having worked across a variety of business-to-business titles. Since joining Pennwell in 2010, he has been influential in developing international partnerships for the water brand and has overseen digital developments, including 360 degree video case studies. He has interviewed high level figures, including NYSE CEO’s and Environmental Ministers. A known figure in the global water industry, Tom has chaired and spoken at conferences around the world, from Helsinki, to London and Singapore. An English graduate from Exeter University, Tom completed his PMA journalism training in London.