Saudi Water Authority (SWA) announced on Monday that it has achieved the world’s lowest energy consumption rate for producing desalinated water, securing entry into the Guinness World Records.

A 200,000 cubic metres per day (m3/day) mobile reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant, located within the Yanbu desalination complex on the Red Sea coast, recorded lowest energy use of 1.55 kilowatt-hours per cubic metre (kWh/m3), SWA said in a social media post.

The previous global benchmark was held by Saudi's Shuaibah 5 desalination plant, a 664,000 m3/day facility on the Red Sea coast, which achieved 1.7 kWh/m3, according to an SWA statement issued in February 2026. That itself was a significant improvement from Shuaibah 5’s earlier record of 2.34 kWh/m3, first announced in May 2025.

SWA had said the performance compared with conventional desalination plants typically consuming 4 to 5 kWh/m3, attributing the energy reduction achievement to integration of high-performance RO membranes, energy recovery systems, highly efficient pre-treatment processes, and partial integration with solar power.

Shuaibah 5 is an Independent Water Project (IWP), owned and operated by a consortium of Saudi Arabia’s Advanced Water Technology (AWT) and Rawafid Industrial with an original mandate to reduce electricity consumption for desalination to less than 2.75 kWh/m3.

The Yanbu milestone was achieved in collaboration with Saudi Water Innovation Centre and Water Technologies Innovation Institute and Research Advancements (WTIIRA), and The Water Desalination (formerly SWCC), the SWA post said.

According to SWA and state media SPA, the new operational model integrates eco-friendly technologies and advanced filtration systems, enabling the plant to be scalable and adaptable across different operational environments. Moreover, the plant occupies an area of less than 3,000 square metres (sqm), highlighting efficient land use and higher infrastructure productivity.

The authority said the Yanbu achievement is expected to help reduce operating costs, improve long-term resource sustainability, and strengthen reliability of water supply under varying operating conditions.

Saudi Arabia is among the world’s largest desalinated water producers, with output exceeding 11.1 million m3/day, making efficiency gains in desalination highly significant for both operating costs and emissions reduction. The Kingdom is targeting a 30 percent reduction in water sector energy consumption by 2030.

(Writing by Anoop Menon; Editing by SA Kader)

Subscribe to our Projects' PULSE newsletter that brings you trustworthy news, updates and insights on project activities, developments, and partnerships across sectors in the Middle East and Africa.