Key figures (as of October 2026)
| National installed desalination capacity, 2023 | 7.80 million m3 a day |
| Reverse osmosis share of Abu Dhabi production, 2025 | 45%, up from 6% in 2014 |
| Abu Dhabi reverse osmosis share expected by 2030 | 92%, up from 15% in 2020 |
| Taweelah reverse osmosis plant | 909,218 m3 a day at 2.81 kWh per m3 |
| Dubai desalination capacity target | 735 MIGD by 2030, 308 MIGD of it renewable-powered reverse osmosis |
| Liwa underground desalinated-water reserve | More than 26 million m3 in 315 recovery wells |
| Treated wastewater, latest national figure | 823 million m3 treated, more than 70% reused |
A national fleet built on the sea
Drawing most of its drinking water from the sea, the UAE has built one of the world's largest desalination systems. Installed capacity across the country's utilities stood at 7.80 million cubic metres a day in 2023. Abu Dhabi accounted for 4.74 million, Dubai 2.25 million, Sharjah 0.56 million and the federal utility 0.20 million. Total water demand from all sources is estimated at about 5 billion cubic metres a year, with desalinated water supplying most drinking and household use.
Growth is planned ahead of need. In Abu Dhabi, the forecast system peak rises from 3.41 million cubic metres a day in 2025 to 4.03 million in 2033. Dubai's capacity is set to climb from 555 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD) today to 735 MIGD by 2030.
From thermal to reverse osmosis
For decades, Gulf water came mainly from thermal plants that evaporate seawater using heat from power stations. Reverse osmosis instead pushes seawater through membranes with high-pressure pumps. It needs only electricity, uses far less energy, and frees water production from power generation, so it can run on solar power.
The shift is already visible in the data. In 2025, reverse osmosis produced 549 million of the 1,214 million cubic metres of desalinated water produced in Abu Dhabi, or 45%, against 6% in 2014. Abu Dhabi expects reverse osmosis to supply about 92% of its water by 2030, up from 15% in 2020. It also forecasts that the carbon intensity of water production will fall from 11.5 kg of CO2 per cubic metre in 2019 to about 1.4 kg by 2029. Reverse osmosis cuts emissions by more than 85% compared with thermal desalination.
Flagship plants anchor the transition:
- Taweelah, Abu Dhabi: the world's largest operating reverse osmosis plant at 909,218 cubic metres a day, in full operation since 2024. Its specific energy use of 2.81 kWh per cubic metre is a record for a plant of its scale. A solar field of more than 70 MWp supplies part of its power.
- Mirfa 2, Abu Dhabi: a 120 MIGD reverse osmosis plant completed and operating in 2026.
- Hassyan, Dubai: a 180 MIGD first phase worth AED 3.377 billion. Its first 60 MIGD block was commissioned in early 2026, a further 120 MIGD is expected during the year, and all phases are scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.
Reverse osmosis now makes up about 23% of Dubai's capacity. By 2030, Dubai aims to produce all of its desalinated water using clean energy and waste heat, with 308 MIGD from reverse osmosis powered by renewables.
Storing and reusing water
Efficiency also means keeping and reusing water. Beneath the Liwa desert, Abu Dhabi has stored more than 26 million cubic metres of high-quality desalinated water in a natural aquifer, recoverable through 315 wells up to 80 metres deep. The reserve can supply one million people with 180 litres a day for up to 90 days, at a recovery rate of up to 100 million gallons a day. The UAE also manages 109 dams holding more than 90 million cubic metres.
On reuse, the latest national figures show 823 million cubic metres of wastewater treated, with more than 70% reused, mainly for landscape irrigation. The national 2036 water strategy targets 95% reuse, a 21% cut in total demand and a halving of average per-capita consumption.
The Gulf and the world
The UAE sits in a region that leads the world in desalination. Saudi Arabia's production capacity passed 16 million cubic metres a day by the end of 2025, up from 4.6 million in 2016. Its Shuaiba 5 plant holds a record for low energy use at 2.34 kWh per cubic metre overall. Globally, installed desalination capacity has grown by about 40% since 2020, and water reuse capacity by 52%.
Scenarios: when Abu Dhabi's reverse osmosis share first reaches 90%
Abu Dhabi plans to lift reverse osmosis from 45% of production in 2025 to about 92% by 2030. The five scenarios are defined by the calendar year in which the reverse osmosis share of Abu Dhabi's desalinated water production first reaches 90%. Probabilities are the Centre's analytical estimates.
How this resolves: the share for each year is reverse osmosis production divided by total desalinated water production in the emirate's official annual water statistics, expressed as a percentage to one decimal place and rounded half up. A share of exactly 90.0% counts as reaching the mark. The five bands are whole calendar years (2028 or earlier, 2029, 2030, 2031, and 2032 or later), so every possible year falls in exactly one band. The yearly gains quoted below are the Centre's own calculation: the share rose by about 6 percentage points a year between 2020 and 2025 (from 15% to 45%), and the 2030 plan implies about 9.4 points a year. If by 31 December 2032 no official figure has shown the share at 90% or above and the figure for 2031 shows it below 90%, the forecast resolves to the last band. If by then no official figure has shown the share at 90% or above and no figure for 2031 has been published, the forecast is withdrawn.
Scenarios revised on 30 October 2026 to a finer split.
Well ahead of plan, 2028 or earlier
New plants come online early and several thermal units retire ahead of schedule, lifting the share by about 15 points a year to reach 90% by 2028. That is two and a half times the 2020–2025 pace, so the weight is small.
Faster renewable-powered rollout, 2029
Falling solar and storage costs and quick procurement of the next plants lift the share to 90% a year before plan, a gain of about 11 points a year. Energy use per cubic metre keeps falling as newer membranes and pumps enter service. This takes most of the early-arrival weight because it is only a modest step above the planned pace.
Transition on plan, 2030
New reverse osmosis capacity arrives broadly on schedule, older thermal units retire as planned, and the share first reaches 90% in 2030. This is the base case because the largest plants are already built or close to completion.
Steady but gradual, 2031
Commissioning of later plants or pipelines takes a little longer, and the 90% mark is first reached in 2031, at a gain of about 7.5 points a year. Capacity still grows ahead of demand and emissions intensity keeps falling. This takes most of the later weight because it needs only a short timing shift.
Measured pace, 2032 or later
The transition continues at close to its 2020–2025 pace of about 6 points a year, and the mark is first reached in 2032 or later. Reverse osmosis would still supply the large majority of Abu Dhabi's desalinated water, with emissions intensity falling year by year.
What to watch
- Hassyan completion: the remaining blocks due by the first quarter of 2027.
- Annual production statistics: each year's reverse osmosis share of Abu Dhabi output.
- New plant awards: the next reverse osmosis projects in Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates.
- Specific energy use: whether new plants improve on 2.81 kWh per cubic metre.
- Reuse rates: progress from more than 70% towards the 95% goal.
Figures as of October 2026. Probabilities are analytical estimates by the Ghaf Centre for Studies & Research.