Norwegian clean-tech group Ocean Oasis has introduced wave-powered, offshore desalination buoys to provide freshwater for the Canary Islands. These buoys produce freshwater using membrane-based desalination technology powered directly by wave induced motion.
Situated off the west coast of Africa, the Canary islands have long been struggling with water shortage. As such, businesses and communities on the island have become dependent on sea water desalination for freshwater.
To address this problem, Ocean Oasis has developed the desalination buoys. They are currently being tested and validated by the consortium’s Desalife (Desalination for Environmental Sustainability And LIFE) project. The floating buoys will increase the volume of affordable and sustainable freshwater available to the local population and farmers in the north region of the island. A pilot buoy named Gaia has been deployed already to validate the technology at a site offshore the Port of Las Palmas. It was made possible by co-funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator, Innovation Norway and other funders.
Project to be operational by 2026
Desalife’s objective ist to have the first pre-commercial buoys producing fresh water by mid-2026.
Kristine Bangstad Fredriksen, CEO and Co-Founder of Ocean Oasis, said: “At Ocean Oasis we believe that by harnessing the power of renewable energy, such as wave power, we have the potential to create a future where clean water is accessible and abundant, not scarce. We are honoured to lead the DESALIFE project consortium to deliver renewable powered desalinated water, with zero emissions, to Gran Canaria. This first-of a-kind project will demonstrate our solution for the Canary Islands, and the potential to deliver fresh water to other coastal areas and island nations facing water scarcity.”
Over 300 million people are reliant on seawater desalination for their freshwater supply. Due to factors such as climate change, resulting extreme weather events, and increasing population, this number is expected to double by 2030. Ocean Oasis wants to tackle this challenge and help provide affordable and clean freshwater.
Environmentally friendly freshwater production
Due to ist wave potential and operating conditions, the north coast of Gran Canaria was chosen as a location for the project. This also puts the buoys close to existing desalination plants, which the local population relies on for freshwater. One of those, the Arucas-Moya seawater desalination plant, will contribute to the implementation and operation phases of the Desalife project by integrating the offshore freshwater produced by the desalination buoys with its own production.
As a result, the facility will increase production by around 2,000 m3 per day, which is equivalent to the daily water consumption of 15,000 people. This will be achieved without the need to expand the existing onshore plant, or increase its energy consumption, CO2 emissions or its brine discharge from shore.
The Councilor of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Miranda, highlighted the values of the project, which he said, “combines solutions to address the increasing water production demand in the Islands with an environmentally friendly alternative”. Miranda added that the proposal is “aligned with the collaboration between diverse institutions to incorporate innovative systems to the water cycle in the Archipelago, already a pioneer when searching for formulas for obtaining fresh water”.
Membrane technology in use
The buoys use a membrane-based technology powered by wave induced motion to desalinate seawater. They work without grid power, emissions to the atmosphere, and chemicals. This technology has been developed for sustainable use of the oceans drawing on 50 years of experience in the Norwegian offshore industry.
Dr. Thomas B. Johannessen, CTO, co-founder and inventor of the technology commented: “We are grateful and feel privileged to be given this opportunity to take the Ocean Oasis technology to the next commercial level. Wave power is abundant, and a concentrated energy form compared with solar and wind power. Whereas the power of the waves must be treated with respect in engineering and design of offshore structures, the pilot testing carried out to date suggests that direct desalination is a very good way to utilise wave energy bypassing many of the challenges associated with electricity production by wave power.”
The European Executive Agency on Climate, Infrastructure and Environment (CINEA) has funded the project with nearly €6 million. Gran Canaria based Ocean Oasis subsidiary Ocean Oasis Canarias will be leading the project.
Additionally, the Consortium includes key institutional and private partners:
- Canary Islands Institute of Technology (ITC)
- Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (Plataforma Oceánica de Canarias, PLOCAN)
- Group for the Research on Renewable Energy Systems (GRRES) of the Universidad of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC)
- elittoral, an environmental consultancy specialized in coastal and oceanographic engineering
The goal: providing freshwater on a larger scale
Miguel Hidalgo, vice president oft he Gran Canaria Island Water Council, calls the Desalife project “a strong commitment to promoting and developing reference projects aimed at harnessing renewable energy resources, such as wave energy.”
Another goal Desalife pursues with the project ist to investigate and test the scaleability oft he technology. Ideally, they would like to provide freshwater to more islands in the archipelago, which are also experiencing water scarcity. Once operational, the buoys will facilitate the transition toward a sustainable, energy-efficient and climate-resilient economy in the Canary Islands.
