IIT Madras prof bags ‘VinFuture Prize’ for developing low-cost filtration system

The VinFuture Grand Prize is valued at US$3 million – one of the largest ever annual prizes globally. The recipients were selected from nearly 1,000 nominations across 71 countries.  

Prof Thalappil Pradeep discovered affordable and sustainable nanomaterials to produce clean water. Image courtesy: IIT Madras

Professor Thalappil Pradeep from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has won ‘VinFuture Prizes’ for his development of a low-cost filtration system to remove arsenic and other heavy metals from groundwater. 

This can help hundreds of millions of people around the world living with contaminated water get access to clean water. Prof Pradeep received the VinFuture Prize at the award ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam, on December 20, 2022. He has earlier been recognised with the Padma Shri, Nikkei Asia Prize, and Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water among many others and his technologies are delivering clean water to over 1.2 crore people. 

The VinFuture Grand Prize is valued at US$3 million – one of the largest ever annual prizes globally. It also includes three special prizes, each valued at US$ 500,000, given to female innovators, developing country innovators, and innovators with outstanding achievements in emerging fields. The recipients were selected from nearly 1,000 nominations across 71 countries.  

Thanking the awards jury for recognising this research, Prof Pradeep, Institute Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT Madras, said, “This recognises everyone who worked with me, everyone who has been benefited from the work and those who enabled the translation of our work. At the same time, I am aware of the huge gap yet to be bridged to deliver clean water to everyone. I hope that this recognition will help in realising that dream. I thank my institute which gave me everything. I thank my country, which made me stand up.” 

Prof. Pradeep discovered affordable and sustainable nanomaterials to produce clean water. The arsenic and other materials removed by these materials do not impact the surrounding environment. This method, employing simple designs, provides a means to purify groundwater at a low cost to reach millions of impacted households. In remote areas, this technology is more advantageous because it does not require electricity. 
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