Saudi Researcher Wins Global Innovation Prize for Clean Energy Work

Majed Alawad, director of the Joint Center of Excellence for Nanomaterials for Clean Energy Applications at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, has received the Distinguished Innovator Award from the Global Innovation Institute for work focused on clean energy and sustainability technologies.

The award recognises innovations demonstrating measurable societal impact and progression from research concepts into implemented applications over the past two years.

According to organisers, the 2025 edition of the programme received 1,476 applications from 26 countries, with 100 winners selected across 10 categories, including 30 recipients in the Distinguished Innovator category.

Alawad was recognised for research spanning climate technologies, advanced materials, and atmospheric water-harvesting systems designed for agriculture and afforestation projects in arid regions.

Part of the work included the establishment of PureSky, a company focused on technologies that extract water from the atmosphere for use in dry environments.