Siemens and Wayout International signed an agreement to cooperate in building the Swedish sustainable water producer’s systems in the Middle East, initially focusing on the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Wayout makes water production systems that include smart pods, kegs and taps. The pods are essentially micro-factories in a 6 by 2.5-meter cargo-container which can be powered by solar panels. A single Wayout smart pod can treat all types of water and convert into 8,000 liters of high-quality drinking water a day, meeting the needs of 2,000 people. Stainless steel kegs are used to transport the water and cloud-connected taps disburse it, creating a smart system that doesn’t rely on chemicals and significantly reduces the use of plastic.

Siemens and Wayout will discuss in the coming weeks the exact scope that will be needed to produce the systems in the Middle East. Siemens’ solutions including industrial controllers, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, Internet of Things expertise and other software and equipment are needed to build the Wayout sustainable water system.

“Sustainability is at the core of Siemens’ portfolio, and we are eager to contribute our technology to transforming the water supply across the Middle East,” said Mohammed Khalifa, the CEO of Siemens Digital Industries in the Middle East. “Wayout’sinnovative system makes water accessible where it’s most needed, and it does it with minimal environmental footprint.”

A single Wayout system prevents up to 483 tons of greenhouse gasses and 5.7 million single use plastic bottles per year. Installations so far include a restaurant in Nairobi, the Sayari Camp in Tanzania’s Serengeti, and Stockholm’s Central Park

“We have all learned over the past two years the importance of having local resources, and water is humanity’s most precious,” saidUIfStenerhag, CEO of Wayout. “By using Siemens technology, our systems will be smarter and more efficient, and will enable people in the Middle East to maximize the use of their local water resources.”