Active Membranes Advances To XPRIZE Water Scarcity Semifinals In Both Track A And Track B

Active Membranes, Inc., a developer of smart membrane technologies for desalination and water reuse, today announced that it has been selected as a Semifinalist in both Track A and Track B of the $119M XPRIZE Water Scarcity competition.

The $119M global competition, launched by XPRIZE and sponsored by the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, is designed to drive widespread access to clean water by creating reliable, sustainable, and affordable seawater desalination systems. Active Membranes advanced through the competition’s first physical testing phase following an extensive evaluation process assessing the technical feasibility, scalability, and innovation potential of competing technologies. Testing for Track A was conducted at the Naval Base in Port Hueneme, California, while Track B evaluations were conducted in-house using real Pacific Ocean seawater under various conditions validating material endurance and longevity under harsh conditions and its superior anti-scaling and anti-fouling performance.

The company is among a select group of teams advancing to the next stage of the competition in both tracks, underscoring the versatility of its electro-active membrane platform and its potential to transform desalination systems into smarter, more resilient, and more cost-effective infrastructure at any scale.

“Being selected as a Semifinalist in both Track A and Track B is an important validation of both our technology and the broader vision behind Active Membranes,” said Arian Edalat, CEO and Co-Founder of Active Membranes. “Desalination is approaching a critical inflection point. As global water scarcity accelerates, and with approximately 97% of the world’s water resources being saline, the industry needs systems that are not only more energy efficient, but also simpler, more sustainable, and economically viable at any scale. We believe electro-active membranes can fundamentally redefine how membrane separation systems operate.”

Active Membranes’ patented electro-active reverse osmosis technology is designed to address these limitations directly at the membrane surface. By applying a tunable low electrical potential during operation, the system actively mitigates scaling and fouling in real time, enabling higher freshwater recovery, lower chemical consumption, reduced downtime, and more stable long-term performance.

Beyond performance improvements, the company’s broader vision is to create a new class of adaptive membrane systems that shift desalination away from passive consumables and toward intelligent, self-optimizing infrastructure. Rather than relying on increasingly complex pretreatment and chemical-intensive operation, Active Membranes aims to transform membrane plants into adaptive, responsive, and ultimately self-performing systems.

The company’s technology has already been validated through multiple pilot and field demonstration programs spanning seawater desalination, brackish water desalination, produced water treatment, and industrial water reuse applications, including projects with major industrial and government stakeholders. Recent milestones include the successful scale-up of the company’s industry-standard 8040 electro-active spiral-wound RO modules and the launch of its first commercial BOOT project for produced water desalination and reuse in California.

The next phase of the competition will continue evaluating technologies capable of reshaping seawater desalination through decentralized, adaptive, and resource-efficient system designs.

About Active Membranes, Inc.
Active Membranes has developed a transformational smart membrane technology platform designed to reduce the cost, physical footprint, chemical dependency, and carbon footprint of membrane-based water treatment systems, including desalination plants. By actively controlling membrane surface behavior during operation, the company enables simpler, more resilient, and more cost-effective desalination and water reuse systems for both existing and new installations.

About XPRIZE
XPRIZE is the recognized global leader in designing and executing large-scale competitions to solve humanity's greatest challenges. For over 30 years, our unique model has democratized crowd-sourced innovation and scientifically scalable solutions that accelerate a more equitable and abundant future. Donate, learn more, and co-architect a world of abundance with us at xprize.org. For more information, vist https://activemembrane.com