Industries that need ultra-pure water — including semiconductor, battery, pharmaceutical, food and beverage companies — are expanding in Arizona. One of the most overlooked challenges for these businesses is what gets left behind in the pursuit of clean water: brine, the salty byproduct of processes like reverse osmosis. For Shahnawaz Sinha, an associate research professor in civil and environmental engineering at Arizona State University, brine isn’t just waste, it’s an opportunity. Through a partnership with Nestlé and supported by ASU’s Arizona Water Innovation Initiative and the Global Center for Water Technology, Sinha is developing a mobile, closed-loop water recovery demonstration facility that could change how industries in the metro Phoenix area deal with brine. By recovering another 50%–90% of previously unusable water from industrial brine and reducing the remainder to solid salt, the project aims to minimize waste and extract freshwater to support Arizona’s economy and water resilience.