National Centre of Excellence in Desalination, Australia
Download
Project location: Murdoch University, Rockingham, Western Australia
Funding recipients: Murdoch University
Total Australian Government funding: $20,000,000 (GST exclusive)
About the project:
The Australian Government is investing in research through the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination to support the development and commercialisation of innovative technologies in desalination. With access to new technologies, our desalination industry will be able to deliver water with greater effectiveness and energy efficiency.
The Centre was established in June 2009 and is governed by a Board. The Administering Organisation is Murdoch University.
Participating organisations are: CSIRO; Curtin University; Deakin University; Edith Cowan University; Flinders University; Monash University; University of NSW; University of Queensland; University of South Australia; University of Technology Sydney; Victoria University; University of Western Australia; and the University of Wollongong.
Project benefits/objectives:
To help secure Australia's water supply by:
-
providing leadership in accelerating ground-breaking research on energy efficient desalination technology for water supply being developed in Australia, including:
- investigating ways of optimising and adapting desalination technology for use in Australia's unique circumstances
- expanding on research into the use of desalination technology in rural and regional areas
- researching ways of efficiently and affordably reducing the carbon footprint of desalination facilities and technologies
- developing partnerships and collaborative arrangement to create an interdisciplinary and multi-institutional national centre, with a particular focus on building links between the research community and industry.
- providing facilities to researchers and industry to support the development of new technologies and practices including pilot test facilities
- commercialising the resultant new desalination technologies, including patenting and promoting the uptake of new or improved desalination technologies both within Australia and internationally
- utilising and developing the research and industry skills base, including but not limited to providing high quality postgraduate and post doctoral research opportunities and training
- promoting increased public acceptance of alternate water sources and their opportunities for use in the context of a 'fit for purpose' water use strategy.
Project Progress:
To date the Centre has allocated funding to 44 projects, with leveraged research totalling more than $39 million. Projects are aligned to the five priority research themes of the Centre's Australian Desalination Research Roadmap. These are: pre-treatment; reverse osmosis desalting; novel desalting; concentrate management; and social, environmental and economic issues.
The Centre has awarded five Honours and 22 PhD top-up scholarships worth $820,000 to students wishing to pursue further studies in desalination.
The Centre has opened the Desal Discovery Centre - a water science education facility which has so far welcomed close to 1000 visitors.
Links:
Details of the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination can be located at www.desalination.edu.au
The Centre works closely with the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.
National Urban Water and Desalination Plan projects are funded under the Australian Government's Water for the Future initiative.
Subscribe to the Water Matters newsletter
For up-to-date information about the Water for the Future initiative.
