/// PROJECTS

DESALIFE: Desalination for Environmental Sustainability and LIFE

The DESALIFE project aims to validate and demonstrate the feasibility of an innovative wave-powered desalination buoy, providing an efficient and zero-emission alternative to onshore desalination plants. Four full-scale buoys will be tested in the Canary Islands, producing 1.66 million m³ of emission-free freshwater. By 2050, 890 buoys are expected to supply 3.48 million people, significantly reducing CO₂ emissions and operational costs.

Globally, 1.5 billion people live in high- or extreme-water vulnerable areas. More than 300 million people rely on desalination for freshwater supply, and these are expected to triple by 2050. However, onshore seawater desalination is energy- and carbon-intensive, disposes brine close to shore, consumes soil in land-scarce areas, has long planning and construction times, and requires high investments and operational costs.

Ocean Oasis’ offshore wave-powered desalination buoy represents the most competitive alternative to conventional onshore desalination plants for the cost-efficient and zero-emission delivery of freshwater at large-scale.

The overall objective of DESALIFE is to qualify, prove and validate this breakthrough zero-emission desalination technology, by piloting four full-scale desalination buoys in the real operational environment of Arucas-Moya desalination plant, Canary Islands, to reach their full commercial readiness at TRL8, and verify its social, environmental and economic impact. DESALIFE will also ensure the replicability and scalability of the desalination buoy solution in other water scarce areas with wave energy potential and the exploitation of the project results and arising IP.

Thanks to the DESALIFE project, 1.662 million m3 of emission free freshwater will be produced throughout the piloting period, which will enable to supply water to 15,313 people per day, avoid the emission of 2,379 tons of CO2 equivalents, and generate economic savings of €34.5m in CAPEX and of €1.7m/year in operational costs for the operator of Arucas Moya plant.

Our replication and upscaling strategy aims at deploying 890 buoys by 2050 in locations characterised by water scarcity and wave energy potential. These buoys will have a daily production of 161 million m3 of freshwater, satisfying the demand of 3.48 million people, avoiding the yearly emission of 234,000 tons of CO2eq, and generating economic savings of €540 million CAPEX and €162 million/year of OPEX.