Facing scarcity, the Gulf’s ‘smart water’ future lies in desalination – Atlantic Council

Report on Integrated Data Center and Desalination Infrastructure for Sustainable Development in the Gulf Region

Introduction: A Dual-Pronged Approach to the Sustainable Development Goals

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states face a critical intersection of policy challenges that directly impact their ability to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These challenges are twofold: acute water scarcity, which threatens SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), and the economic imperative to diversify away from hydrocarbon dependency, a key component of SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure). A novel solution is emerging in the form of “regenerative data centers,” an innovative infrastructure model that integrates seawater desalination facilities. This report outlines how this technology offers a synergistic approach to address water security and economic diversification, thereby advancing multiple SDGs simultaneously.

Addressing Key SDG Mandates in the GCC

SDG 6: Securing Clean Water and Sanitation

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the most water-stressed in the world. GCC nations, in particular, have minimal natural freshwater resources and rely heavily on energy-intensive desalination. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest producer of desalinated water, consumes approximately 300,000 barrels of oil daily to power its plants. This reliance on fossil fuels for a basic necessity is unsustainable. Regenerative data centers offer a direct solution by using waste heat—an otherwise squandered byproduct—to produce fresh water, thus contributing to Target 6.1 (achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water) and Target 6.4 (substantially increase water-use efficiency).

SDG 8 & 9: Fostering Economic Growth, Innovation, and Resilient Infrastructure

In line with national strategies like Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, GCC states are actively pursuing economic diversification. A central pillar of this strategy is the development of a robust digital economy, including cloud services, AI, and data center infrastructure. The Middle East’s data center capacity is projected to triple by 2030.

Industry and Innovation (SDG 9): Regenerative data centers represent a leap in high-tech, sustainable infrastructure. They integrate two complex systems to create a resilient, resource-efficient facility that supports the region’s digital transformation.
Economic Growth (SDG 8): The development and operation of these advanced facilities create a demand for a highly skilled workforce in fields such as mechanical, environmental, and information technology, aligning with national labor initiatives like Saudization and Emiratisation.

The Regenerative Data Center: A Model for Sustainable Production

Core Concept and Alignment with SDG 12

A regenerative data center is designed to be self-sufficient in critical resources. It aims to produce its own renewable energy, recycle all waste, and generate its own water supply. This model embodies the principles of a circular economy, directly supporting SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). By transforming waste heat into a valuable resource (freshwater), the system minimizes its environmental footprint and can even become a net-positive contributor to the local community by supplying surplus water or energy.

Technical Approach: Multi-Effect Distillation (MED) and Climate Action

The most practical method for this integration involves using the low-grade waste heat (40-60°C) from a data center’s liquid cooling systems to power a thermal desalination process known as Multi-Effect Distillation (MED). This process is highly efficient at lower temperatures.

Efficiency and Output: Research indicates that a 1-megawatt (MW) data center can produce approximately 115 cubic meters of freshwater per day using this method.
Energy and Climate Impact (SDG 7 & 13): This process significantly improves overall energy efficiency. Each cubic meter of water produced via waste heat avoids the burning of fossil fuels that would have been required by a conventional desalination plant. This directly contributes to SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) by promoting energy efficiency and SDG 13 (Climate Action) by reducing net carbon emissions.

Implementation Challenges and Strategic Considerations

The realization of this vision requires overcoming several hurdles. A strategic approach is necessary to ensure successful implementation and scalability.

Technical Complexity: Integrating a data center with a desalination plant is a complex engineering task that requires cutting-edge design and expertise.
Economic Viability: The high upfront capital investment can be a deterrent. Pilot projects, such as those in NEOM and Masdar, are vital for demonstrating proof of concept and long-term financial returns through operational savings.
Sustainable Energy Sources (SDG 7): While utilizing waste heat is a major efficiency gain, the data centers themselves require substantial power. A full commitment to sustainability necessitates powering these facilities with clean energy, such as solar, wind, or innovative solutions like small modular reactors (SMRs).
Brine Management (SDG 6 & 12): Desalination produces highly concentrated brine, an environmental pollutant. Achieving true sustainability requires a zero-liquid discharge approach, where salts and minerals are extracted from the brine for other uses. Initiatives like the UAE’s “Rethink Brine” challenge are crucial for developing solutions.

Conclusion: A Synergistic Pathway to a Sustainable Future

The concept of desalination-enhanced regenerative data centers offers a powerful, integrated solution to the intertwined challenges of water scarcity and economic transition in the Gulf region. By transforming a digital liability (waste heat) into a life-sustaining asset (freshwater), this model provides a clear pathway for advancing a suite of Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, and 13. As the GCC invests heavily in a post-oil future, pioneering such dual-purpose, sustainable infrastructure will be fundamental to ensuring long-term economic prosperity and environmental resilience.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article on the Gulf’s water scarcity and the innovative solution of regenerative data centers addresses several interconnected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The primary focus is on water and energy, but the discussion extends to economic growth, industry, innovation, and sustainable production.

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation: This is the most central SDG, as the article’s main theme is addressing “acute water scarcity” in the MENA region through desalination.
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy: The article highlights the “high energy requirement” of desalination and discusses the need for energy efficiency and a shift towards clean energy sources to power these facilities.
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: The text links the technological solutions directly to the “imperative of economic diversification” away from oil and gas, creating knowledge-based economies and skilled jobs.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: The core solution proposed—integrating data centers with desalination plants—is a prime example of innovative, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities: The proposed infrastructure is described as potentially “net-positive… for the surrounding community by providing excess freshwater or energy,” contributing to more sustainable and resilient human settlements.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: The concept of a regenerative data center is rooted in a “circular economy approach,” using waste heat and aiming to reduce waste products like brine, which aligns with sustainable production patterns.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the article’s discussion, several specific SDG targets can be identified:

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Target 6.1: “By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.” The article directly addresses this by discussing how GCC countries “depend heavily on desalination for their drinking water, effectively bridging the gap between limited freshwater and increasing demand.”
Target 6.3: “By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution… and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.” This is relevant to the discussion on brine, the “highly concentrated wastewater” from desalination. The article mentions efforts to mitigate its environmental impact, such as the UAE’s “Rethink Brine” challenge and NEOM’s goal to create a brine processing plant.
Target 6.4: “By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors…” The proposed regenerative data center, which would “replace all the water it uses through internal recycling or by producing new water through desalination,” is a direct effort to improve water-use efficiency in the ICT industry.

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

Target 7.2: “By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.” The article notes that a regenerative data center could “produce its own renewable energy on-site (e.g., via solar farms or wind)” and mentions innovative clean energy solutions like small modular reactors (SMRs).
Target 7.3: “By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.” The proposed system improves energy efficiency by using waste heat from data centers to power desalination. The article states, “the system’s overall energy efficiency improves because a larger portion of the input electrical energy is converted into useful outputs.”

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Target 8.2: “Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation…” The article frames the entire issue within the context of Gulf states pursuing “strategies to reduce dependence on oil and gas revenues by developing high-tech industries” and building “knowledge-based, sustainable economies.”

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Target 9.1: “Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure…” The article’s focus on “dual-purpose infrastructure like regenerative data centers” is a direct response to this target, aiming to solve both water and economic challenges.
Target 9.4: “By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies…” The concept of using waste heat for desalination is described as a way to lower “net emissions” and improve resource efficiency, making the data center industry more sustainable.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Target 12.5: “By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.” This is addressed through the use of waste heat (preventing energy waste) and the efforts to manage brine, such as NEOM’s aim to “reach zero liquid discharge by extracting salts and minerals.”

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article provides several quantitative figures that can serve as indicators to measure progress:

Indicators for SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation)

Indicator for Target 6.1: Saudi Arabia’s desalination capacity is expected to reach 8.5 million cubic meters per day by 2025. This measures the scale of infrastructure being built to ensure water supply.
Indicator for Target 6.4: A one-megawatt (MW) IT-load data center can generate approximately 115 m³ of water per day using waste-heat MED. This is a direct measure of water-use efficiency for this new technology.
Indicator for Target 6.3: A typical desalination plant may produce 1.5 liters of brine for every liter of freshwater. This serves as a baseline indicator for measuring the reduction of polluting wastewater.

Indicators for SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)

Indicator for Target 7.3: Saudi Arabia consumes about 300,000 barrels of oil daily to power its desalination plants. Progress can be measured by the reduction of this fossil fuel consumption through energy-efficient technologies.

Indicators for SDG 8 & 9 (Economic Growth, Industry & Innovation)

Indicator for Target 8.2 & 9.1: Saudi Arabia is investing $80 billion in new desalination projects and over $300 billion in new industries as part of Vision 2030. These figures indicate the level of investment in economic diversification and new infrastructure.
Indicator for Target 9.1: The Middle East’s data center capacity is forecasted to grow from about one gigawatt (GW) in 2025 to around 3.3 GW by 2030, indicating the rapid expansion of the digital infrastructure sector.

Indicator for SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production)

Indicator for Target 12.5: The goal of achieving “zero liquid discharge” from brine by extracting salts and minerals, as aimed for by NEOM, is a clear indicator of progress in waste reduction and reuse.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs	Targets	Indicators Identified in the Article
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation	6.1: Achieve access to safe and affordable drinking water. 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution and untreated wastewater. 6.4: Increase water-use efficiency.	– Saudi Arabia’s desalination capacity to reach 8.5 million cubic meters/day by 2025. – Production of 1.5 liters of brine per liter of freshwater (baseline for reduction). – A 1 MW data center can produce ~115 m³ of water/day.
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy	7.2: Increase the share of renewable energy. 7.3: Double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency.	– Mention of on-site solar/wind and SMRs for data centers. – Current consumption of 300,000 barrels of oil/day for desalination (baseline for efficiency improvement).
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth	8.2: Achieve economic productivity through diversification and innovation.	– Investment of over $300 billion in new industries (Saudi Vision 2030). – Creation of a need for skilled workers in engineering and IT.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure	9.1: Develop sustainable and resilient infrastructure. 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and industries to be sustainable and resource-efficient.	– Investment of $80 billion in new desalination projects. – Data center capacity growth from 1 GW (2025) to 3.3 GW (2030). – Adoption of waste-heat-to-water technology in data centers.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities	11.b: Adopt and implement integrated policies for resource efficiency and resilience.	– Concept of a data center becoming a “net-positive infrastructure for the surrounding community by providing excess freshwater or energy.”
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production	12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through recycling and reuse.	– Goal of “zero liquid discharge” by processing brine to extract salts and minerals. – “Rethink Brine” innovation challenge in the UAE.

Source: atlanticcouncil.org