Shanghai Electric Rises to Top 5 in Global Desalination Rankings

The dual “thermal + membrane” technology leads green water treatment solutions, sets global benchmark for project implementation

SHANGHAI, Dec. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Shanghai Electric (SEHK: 2727, SSE: 601727) now ranks 5th globally for the capacity of newly built seawater desalination projects from 2024 to 2025, a jump of four places from the previous ranking, according to the recently released statistics by the International Desalination and Reuse Association (IDRA) and Global Water Intelligence (GWI).

In terms of cumulative project capacity over the past 10 years (2016-2025), Shanghai Electric ranks 8th globally, up three places from the previous ranking. IDRA is a global non-profit organization that has connected the desalination and water reuse community since 1973, and GWI is the leading market intelligence provider for the global water sector over the last 20 years.

A Shanghai Electric spokesperson attributed the improved ranking to strong international endorsement of Shanghai Electric’s desalination expertise and project execution, highlighting that this achievement is built on more than 10 years of dedicated development in both thermal and membrane-based technologies. In the future, Shanghai Electric remains committed to delivering environmentally friendly, high-performance, and cost-effective desalination solutions to address global water scarcity challenges.

Shanghai Electric stands as one of the few global enterprises to have mastered the two major core desalination technologies: thermal-based multi-effect distillation (MED) and membrane-based reverse osmosis (RO), providing complete dual-technology solutions. Its seawater desalination expertise now extends beyond standalone water supply and enables diversified industrial applications.

By innovatively integrating waste heat recovery and resource utilization, the company delivers comprehensive, energy-efficient, and high-yield desalination solutions. The tailored systems ensure a stable supply of high-quality freshwater for critical coastal industries such as power generation, steel, and chemical manufacturing.

Over the years, Shanghai Electric has been recognized globally for technical reliability, project execution capability, and international brand presence. The significant rise in ranking is supported by the group’s comprehensive technological solutions across the entire desalination spectrum and its proven track record in successfully delivering major projects both domestically and overseas:

• The Hengyi PMB petrochemical project in Brunei is a benchmark project with a capacity of 3×12,500 tons per day, and it adopts the world’s first combined low-temperature multi-effect distillation (LT-MED) and hot water flash evaporation technology and possesses fully independent intellectual property rights.
• The Waste-Heat Desalination Project of Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co., Ltd. as the largest thermal desalination EPC project undertaken by Shanghai Electric in China has a combined capacity of 305,000 tons per day across its first and second phases, utilizing forward multi-effect distillation (F-MED) technology powered by industrial waste heat.
• The Yulong Petrochemical Thermal-Membrane Hybrid Desalination Project in Yantai, with a capacity of 160,000 tons per day, employs a novel F-MED-RO hybrid technology that integrates thermal and membrane processes. By leveraging a “cascaded use” approach to recover and utilize low-temperature industrial waste heat, it achieves green, low-carbon, and resource-efficient water production. It stands as the world’s largest thermal-membrane hybrid seawater desalination project.

Looking ahead, Shanghai Electric will continue to leverage its comprehensive technological portfolio and extensive global project experience to provide greener, more economical, and more reliable sustainable water solutions for clients worldwide. The group remains dedicated to addressing the global challenge of water scarcity, consistently contributing the “Chinese wisdom” and the “Shanghai Electric solution.”

For more information, please visit https://www.shanghai-electric.com/group_en/.

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