A first-of-its-kind agreement was signed in Abu Dhabi on June 1 to launch a joint Israeli-Emirati Water Research Institute.

The institute is being established as part of a strategic commercial collaboration between Watergen, an Israeli water-from-air technology company, and Baynunah, a sister company of Al Dahra Group, an Emirati agriculture group that specializes in food security. It will be working in close collaboration with the Moshe Mirilashvili Institute for Applied Water Studies at Tel Aviv University (TAU).

Among attendees at the signing ceremony were Professor Ariel Porat, President of TAU; Professor Milette Shamir, Vice President of TAU; Amos Elad, Vice President for Resource Development and Public Affairs Division at TAU; Professor Dror Avisar, Head of the Mirilashvili Institute; Dr. Michael Mirilashvili, Owner and President of Watergen; H.E. Khedaim Abdulla Al Derei, Vice Chairman and Co-Founder of Al Dahra Group; and Eitan Na’eh, the Israeli Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.

“TAU has a strong commitment to excellence in research and to extensive international collaboration,” Professor Shamir said. “Research at the Joint Water Institute will build on our special academic strengths and will open a path for collaboration with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in other mutual areas of research, as well as to student and faculty exchange programs.”

Besides academic cooperation, Watergen and Baynunah laid the cornerstone for a Watergen production facility in the UAE. This joint venture will commercialize Watergen products in the UAE, the Gulf States, and Africa. This joint venture has already been collaborating with the Abu Dhabi municipality, leading to dozens of Watergen devices already deployed around the city for the benefit of its residents, forming the initial stage of one of this joint venture missions: to deploy thousands of Watergen devices all across the UAE. 

Watergen’s innovative technology enables the production of top-quality pure and fresh drinking water solely from the air. Its devices use a standard connection to electricity or other alternative energy sources such as solar panels and can produce up to 6,000 liters of top-quality pure drinking water per day. Today, Watergen’s devices are deployed in more than 80 countries around the world and are located in remote villages, hospitals, city centers, public parks, schools, office buildings, and even in disaster-struck areas. The partnership between Watergen and Baynunah expends the commercial footprint of Watergen in the region, while serving as a catalyst in strengthening the ties between the two nations.   

“The Abraham Accords have given countries in the Middle East the opportunity to improve and advance relations in various fields,” says Dr. Michael Mirilashvili, Watergen’s President and CEO. “Thanks to the agreements, we — an Israeli company — are able to cooperate with our Middle East neighbors to solve one the region’s difficult problems, water scarcity.

“Throughout history, conflicts have often been centered around controlling water sources. Today we are doing the opposite: building peace and a common future around a groundbreaking Israeli technology that will provide a plug-and-play solution which allows all residents of the UAE and the world an unlimited access to off-grid, top-quality, and pure drinking water.”