In the United Arab Emirates, when the Mubadala Development Company along with the Government of Abu Dhabi announced the Masdar City Initiative, the world?s most sustainable city  purely running on 100% renewables, in 2006, little did the nation know that it was just the start of a green investment era in the region.

     Through its culture and heritage as well as ancestors who thrived in the desertic climate conditions, the region?s leaders were one of the most active key players when the world was advocating the shift to renewables and other forms of green technology. This is natural for a nation in the desert region where conservation of natural resources has never taken a backseat in top priorities. In fact, the traditions and culture of the region itself has a focus on environmental preservation.

  This is evident from a number of  green initiatives by the UAE Government, the most major one being the Masdar City Project in the capital city.

The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology is a research academy focused on alternative energy, environmental sustainability, and clean technology.

The Masdar Institute has been behind the engineering procedure of Masdar City and is  the hub of  R-&-D activity. The institute's construction, urbanized in cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA, utilizes  51% less electricity and 54% less potable water than conventional buildings in the region, and is installed with a metering system that continually keeps track of the energy expenditure.

Recently, the nation?s first desalination plant that operates by making use of renewable energy has been inaugurated in Abu Dhabi. Though the plant can generate just a meek 1,500 cubic metres of water per day – more than sufficient to supply 500 homes - the possibilities are endless.

Three-Quarters of the plants utilize reverse osmosis technologies, and one (Trevi Systems), forward osmosis. With the help of the reverse osmosis, seawater is pumped from the sea, while in forward osmosis it is sucked out. All plants use a variety of technologies to conserve as much energy as possible.

In 2015, a student and staff member at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology proposed the idea of a device that can save millions of gallons of water used in mosques every year.

The vessel, created by Dr Ahmed Al Jaberi, assistant professor in material science, can save up to 95 per cent of water during the pre-prayer ablution procedure, or wudu.

 Each person consumes at least 25 litres every time they go to prayer. That?s two cartons of water. If they do it five times a day, that?s 125 litres per day per person and hence a lot of people in the GCC waste away millions of gallons every single day.

The vessel  limits users to 1.2 litres per day and inspires worshippers to exercise restraint in making use of the precious resource.

Mohammed Al Musharrekh,  a PhD student in sustainability at Masdar, helped to develop the first prototype.

?We saw that a lot of water was being consumed during the ablution so we looked for a solution,? he said. ?We had to do something here to save energy and water. That water is considered pure because we just wash our hands and face. There are no chemicals used.?

The water vessel can be attached to any wall, surface or tap. The limit  put on it is 1.2 litres but might be lowered soon.

The Masdar Institute is now working towards a version 2.0, which will comprise of an automatic shut-off, to make the idea patentable.

?Nobody could visualise what the limit for water use was in the religion,? Masdar said. ?They?ve never seen it. If you have an open tap, you can?t really tell so we gave them something from tradition and religion and put them together.?

Masdar continues to hope that the green technology  will be used in mosques around the globe.

?We want to protect the idea because that?s important,? Masdar researchers said. ?It?s our core work in Masdar, which is creating a knowledge-based economy. Our fathers never played with water but nowadays, people just open taps and most of the water is wasted while they only use a little bit of it.?

The vessel could be put on the market. ?The whole thing including the full display costs USD$208 and the device alone USD$104,? Dr Al Jaberi said. ?We?re aiming to make it as cheap as possible and mass produce it, like a new line of taps.?

Mosques in the UAE have between 20 and 30 taps with up to 400 worshippers daily.

Mr Al Musharrekh said saving the UAE?s resources was vital. The UAE 2030 vision involves sustainability. The  water in the UAE is derived from desalination and underground systems, which In turn consumes a colossal amount of energy. This necessitates persistent investments in green technology in the UAE.

 Credits-The National, Wikipedia, Masdar (official site) and UAE Today, Google I