Addressing water scarcity with our Canary Islands desalination project
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22/04/2025
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DesaLIFE News, News
Comienza el proyecto europeo DesaLIFE de desalación undimotriz
Comienza el proyecto europeo DesaLIFE de desalación undimotriz para producir agua potable con energía de las olas en Gran Canaria.
La reunión de inicio del proyecto DesaLIFE – Desalación para la Sostenibilidad Ambiental y Vida, se ha celebrado este jueves en la sede de la Plataforma Oceánica de Canarias (PLOCAN) en Taliarte, Gran Canaria. El encuentro, liderado por la start-up Ocean Oasis Canarias, ha contado con la presencia de todos los socios del proyecto: la Plataforma Oceánica de Canarias (PLOCAN), el Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias (ITC), el Grupo de Investigación en Sistemas de Energías Renovables (GRRES) de la Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), y elittoral, consultora medioambiental especializada en medio costero y marino. Así mismo, se ha contado con representación del Consejo Insular de Aguas de Gran Canaria (CIAGC) que participa en este proyecto como entidad asociada y gestora de la EDAM Arucas-Moya, y recibirá la producción de agua dulce procedente de las boyas desaladoras del proyecto con el objetivo de recibir 2.000 m3/día (promedio anual), el consumo equivalente a 15.000 personas.
DESALIFE tiene un presupuesto aproximado a los 10 M€ y está cofinanciado con 5,9 M€ por la Agencia Ejecutiva Europea de Clima, Infraestructuras y Medio Ambiente (CINEA) en el marco del Programa de Economía Circular y Calidad de Vida. El evento marca el inicio oficial de este proyecto europeo de innovación en el ámbito de las energías marinas y la desalación, que tendrá una duración aproximada de cinco años.
El director de PLOCAN José Joaquín Hernández Brito señaló que “la transición energética en Canarias es urgente y PLOCAN está comprometido con el proyecto DESALIFE para impulsar y acelerar las tecnologías necesarias para hacerlo viable desde un punto de vista social, económico y ambiental”.
Por su parte Sebastián Feimblatt, cofundador de Ocean Oasis y CEO de la delegación canaria, resaltó “la importancia de las instituciones que nos han apoyado en el desarrollo de esta tecnología desde que llegamos a Canarias, hace tres años, y la colaboración tanto de instituciones públicas, como privadas, en el desarrollo de este proyecto, que va a permitir desalar agua con energía de las olas de manera sostenible”.
DESALIFE pretende mostrar la desalinización undimotriz como una solución sostenible y asequible para garantizar el futuro del agua de la isla, contribuyendo adicionalmente a la economía local atrayendo inversión internacional y generando empleo.
Esta tecnología flotante desala agua de mar mediante un proceso de ósmosis inversa que utiliza únicamente la energía de las olas, por lo que no consume electricidad de la red evitando las emisiones de CO2 vincula das.
El uso de energías marinas para la producción de agua desalada permite aumentar la capacidad de producción de este proceso electro-intensivo por medio de una fuente renovable sin aumentar la demanda de energía eléctrica, contribuyendo a la descarbonización de las islas y a su independencia energética.
DESALIFE se basa en la tecnología desarrollada por el grupo noruego Ocean Oasis que aprovecha la experiencia y conocimientos de la industria offshore noruega para su diseño. Esta tecnología se ha perfeccionado en la boya piloto GAIA que ha estado operando en pruebas en el puerto de Las Palmas durante el año pasado. DESALIFE avanza ahora a una fase precomercial a escala real y cuya producción será conectada a la EDAM Arucas-Moya.
DESALIFE estudiará la replicabilidad del proyecto para proporcionar agua dulce de manera renovable a otras islas del archipiélago que también precisan incrementar su producción de agua, contribuyendo a que ésta deje de ser un factor limitante de la potencialidad de la región y facilitando así la transición hacia una economía sostenible, energéticamente eficiente y resiliente al cambio climático en el archipiélago.
Jan 22, 2025
17/04/2025
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Model tests of the Ocean Oasis buoy
Photo: At the Océanide test basin with one of the models in the deep water basin. From left: Thomas B. Johannessen, Benjamin Rousse, Sebastian Feimblatt, Kristine B. Fredriksen, Julie Tillon, Benjamin Bailly, Winifred P. L. Johansen, Thierry Rippol and Alexandre Cinello.
For the past month, model testing of Ocean Oasis’ wave energy converter concept for desalination has been ongoing at Océanide in Southern France. A range of hull shapes have been tested covering the full range of potential future installations.
For the past month, model testing of Ocean Oasis’ wave energy converter concept for desalination has been ongoing at Océanide in Southern France. A range of hull shapes have been tested covering the full range of potential future installations.
During the model test campaign, an extensive range of buoy shapes and configurations have been tested in operation and survival conditions with the objective of validating our numerical tools and studying the hydrodynamics in more detail.
The test basin at Océanide has the capability of modeling waves, current and wind on fixed and floating structures in deep and shallow water. Together with a workshop providing high-quality models and an extensive range of instrumentation available, the facilities are highly suited for testing complex renewable concepts.
“The Océanide team has delivered excellent services throughout this challenging project and has provided a high-quality data set which will be very useful for many years”, says Thomas B. Johannessen who is following up the testing for Ocean Oasis.
The model test campaign is being conducted in La Seyne-sur-Mer, Southern France. Océanide provides model testing and engineering services for coastal and offshore applications, serving both public and private customers, as well as collaborative research projects. Océanide has a strong focus on offshore renewable technologies.
The model testing at Océanide is part of Ocean Oasis’ EIC Accelerator project named ReWater, co-funded by the European Union.
Photo: One of the models in the deep water basin.
Oct 16, 2023
14/04/2025
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DesaLIFE News, News
Awarded Industrial PhD with the University of Oslo
Øystein Lande, our newest team member, has been awarded funding by the Research Council of Norway for his doctoral project under the Industrial PhD Scheme .
In his project, titled “Computational Fluid Dynamics Applied to Wave Energy Extraction in a Coastal Environment”, Øystein will focus on topics central to the further development of Ocean Oasis’ wave-powered desalination solution. He will pursue his PhD at the Department of Mathematics at the University of Oslo, with Professor Atle Jensen as supervisor together with Ocean Oasis’ CTO Dr. Thomas Berge Johannessen as company supervisor.
The Research Council has established the Industrial PhD Scheme to enhance research efforts and long-term competence-building in Norwegian trade and industry by recruiting doctoral candidates. The scheme also aims to foster closer collaboration between the business sector and research organizations, facilitating knowledge transfer from researchers to society at large.
We congratulate Øystein on his new position, which contributes to our mission of providing affordable and sustainable access to safe water for all.
Sep 29, 2023
12/04/2025
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DesaLIFE News, News
Ocean Oasis raises capital in a round led by Unconventional Ventures – Grieg Edge to remain lead investor
The latest funding round by Ocean Oasis has been backed by climate tech-focused investors, with strong continued commitment from the company’s existing investors.
Ocean Oasis is a Norwegian technology growth company developing a clean alternative to current desalination approaches, that will expand access to fresh water in coastal areas around the world.
The new funding round is led by Nordics-focused Unconventional Ventures. Also joining this round is the newly launched fund by Unruly Capital. Existing investors in Ocean Oasis, including Grieg Edge, Farvatn Venture and Antler, showed strong and increased commitment through this new round. Several prominent angel investors also followed up.
The funds raised will add to the company’s effort to test and scale the offshore technology that will supply fresh water competitively to coastal communities and businesses in many locations worldwide. Ocean Oasis’ current activities are already supported by the European Union EIC Accelerator, with a €2.5 million grant awarded in 2022.
Kristine Bangstad Fredriksen, Ocean Oasis Co-founder and CEO, says:
Unconventional Ventures invest in scalable impact tech companies, targeting diverse founders.
Thea Messel, Unconventional Ventures General Partner, says:
Ocean Oasis’ largest investor in terms of ownership is Grieg Edge. Kjerstin Hernes, Head of Ocean Ventures in Grieg Edge and Ocean Oasis board member says:
Mar 2, 2023
10/04/2025
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Projects
Pilot Buoy Project ReWater in Las Palmas
Project ReWater: How we turned waves into fresh water
In November 2022, Ocean Oasis achieved a pivotal milestone with the launch of our ReWater project– our first full-scale prototype for wave-powered desalination. This groundbreaking technology demonstrated our vision: harnessing ocean waves to produce fresh water with zero emissions.
Tested at the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN), ReWater benefited from excellent wave conditions and commitment to sustainable solutions.
Following successful testing, we’re now developing a commercial fleet of wave-powered desalination units that will connect directly to water distribution systems.
Through ReWater, we proved that waves can become water – establishing a technology foundation that powers our mission to transform coastal water security worldwide.
Technical innovation
Standing 10 metres tall, 7 metres in diameter, ReWater represented a remarkable technological achievement. The prototype harnesses wave energy through the relative motion of two interconnected bodies, directly powering reverse osmosis desalination without the need for electricity conversion. This approach significantly improves efficiency compared to conventional systems. Operating offshore, ReWater also minimizes environmental impact and avoids competition for land use.
Strategic testing location for project ReWater
ReWater found its ideal testing ground at the Port of Las Palmas, where we have been able to conduct open-water trials and return to dock for iterative improvement cycles.
Ocean Oasis’ ReWater: moving beyond the prototype
Our ReWater project is just the beginning. Following the successful testing and validation phase, we’ve now advanced to developing a pre-commercial fleet of wave-powered desalination units. These scaled installations will connect directly to water distribution systems, helping communities tackle water stress sustainably at a larger scale.
Through project ReWater, we proved that waves can become water, establishing a technology foundation that now powers our mission to transform coastal water security worldwide.
Powerful Partnerships
This breakthrough wouldn’t have been possible without our dedicated partners:
- PLOCAN (testing infrastructure)
- Government of the Canary Islands
- Cabildo de Gran Canaria
- Innovation Norway
- European Innovation Council Accelerator
- Grieg Maritime Group
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizont Europe research and innovation programme under the grant agreement no.190150864
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10/04/2025
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Projects
Canary Islands Desalination Project
Addressing water scarcity with our Canary Islands desalination project
The Canary Islands are among the largest users of desalinated water in Europe, with demand expected to grow due to population growth, agriculture needs and tourism. Currently, desalination supplies approximately 180 million m3/year of water across the islands. The islands’ unique geography and location make them an ideal setting for showcasing our solution.
The who, what and why of offshore desalination in Spain
The Canary Islands desalination project began following the testing of our first prototype, GAIA, from the Port of Las Palmas. As we established our presence in the Canary Islands, we identified a clear need for sustainable desalination solutions and brought together the ideal partners to form a consortium. This consortium is now working alongside the local water utility to deliver the first project.
Through this local partnership, we secured €6 million in funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator, for the DesaLIFE (Desalination for Environmental Sustainability And LIFE) project that will deploy a fleet of buoys in the north of Gran Canaria.
Desalination ensures a consistent water supply in Spain
The onshore desalination plant will contribute to the implementation and operation phases of DESALIFE by integrating the offshore freshwater produced by the desalination buoys with its own production.
Desalination in Spain continues to play a critical role in ensuring water security. Together with water reuse, desalination is attracting government and private investment to ensure there is a consistent water supply across the country.
Recently, the Secretary of State for Agriculture and Food said that desalination and desalinated waters would be “essential” to achieve environmental sustainability, as well as guaranteeing a water supply to combat drought.
In the Canary Islands, efforts to decarbonize the energy system face significant structural challenges. The insular condition of the archipelago, limited land availability due to competing uses, grid constraints, and high electricity demand from energy-intensive sectors such as desalination, all contribute to a slower and more complex transition. Notably, desalination alone accounts for more than 10% of total electricity consumption in the islands.
In this context, wave power offers promising potential. As a locally available and consistent energy source, wave energy could support off-grid desalination and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, contributing meaningfully to the decarbonization of the water-energy nexus in the islands.
Why our Gran Canaria success matters
Our strategic presence here showcases a solution that coastal communities globally can adopt:
- Proven performance: The GAIA prototype has shown reliable, wave-powered freshwater production under real ocean conditions.
- Zero emissions water production: The system uses direct wave energy to generate freshwater, entirely independent of fossil fuels.
- Local integration: Our Spanish subsidiary serves as a base for deployment, maintenance, and commercial deployment.
- Reduced environmental impact: Offshore solution minimises ecosystem disruption and eliminates harmful brine discharge.
An invitation to water-stressed regions
If your coastal community faces water security challenges, our Gran Canaria project demonstrates how wave-powered technology offers key advantages: It enables an energy secure, off-grid freshwater production independent of existing electricity infrastructure, delivers zero-emissions output with minimal land use, ensures reliable water supply regardless of grid stability or fuel availability, and allows for scalable deployment to meet growing demand.
07/04/2025
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DesaLIFE News, News
Launch of pilot buoy “Gaia”
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: The Norwegian company Ocean Oasis presents the Gaia prototype for wave energy desalination that it will test at the PLOCAN test site.
Today, the Norwegian company Ocean Oasis unveiled the prototype of its offshore floating desalination plant at Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. The prototype, named “Gaia”, is powered by wave energy and will be tested at the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN). This technology will allow the production of fresh water from ocean waters by harnessing the energy of the waves to carry out a desalination process and pump potable water to coastal users.
The launch ceremony for the Gaia prototype took place at the Juan Sebastián Elcano dock in the port of Las Palmas. It was attended by the General Director of Energy of the Government of the Canary Islands, Rosana Melián, the President of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, the director of PLOCAN, José Joaquín Hernández Brito, as well as the Ocean Oasis team and the Norwegian company Grieg Edge on behalf of their investors.
Ocean Oasis CEO Kristine Bangstad Fredriksen welcomed everyone: “We are looking forward to continuing to develop our activities on the islands. We want this day to be a celebration of our collaboration and what is to come.”
The company’s COO, Sebastián Feimblatt, highlighted that the Canary Islands “provide us with the ideal environment to test our technology both due to PLOCAN’s infrastructure, experience and location, as well as the possibility of developing its solution in a market as relevant as the of the Canary Islands in matters of desalination and offshore activities”.
Photo: The prototype “Gaia” christening ceremony by Godmother Marianne Harg
Prototype buoy
The CTO of Ocean Oasis, Thomas B. Johannessen, explained that the prototype, assembled in the port of Las Palmas, is 7 meters in diameter and 10 meters high and weighs about 100 tons. The device extracts the energy of the waves through the relative movement of two bodies and takes advantage of this energy directly to carry out a desalination process by reverse osmosis without the need to produce electrical energy, thus increasing the efficiency of the process. Gaia will be anchored in the southern area of the PLOCAN test site at Punta de la Mareta.
Local support
The General Director of Energy, Rosana Melián, highlighted the progress that the islands represent for becoming a testing platform for new technologies aimed at clean energy. It is becoming the center of attention for large companies that wish to delve into these technologies to advance the progress of the energy transition. She pointed out that all the “green” variants that can be incorporated into the energy range that the Canary Islands projects in the future “will make us take a significant leap in the ambitious decarbonization targets that the islands have set for the years 2030 and 2040”.
The Cabildo de Gran Canaria president, Antonio Morales
The director of PLOCAN, José Joaquín Hernández Brito, congratulated Ocean Oasis for the desalination prototype that it will test in the PLOCAN test site, an experimentation area that he hopes will be used much more.
José Joaquín Hernández Brito, the CEO of PLOCAN, Kristine Bangstad Fredriksen, CEO of Ocean Oasis AS, Sebastian Feimblatt, CEO of Ocean Oasis Canarias, S.L, Antonio Morales Méndez, the President of the Council of Gran Canaria, and Rosana Melián Domínguez, Director of the General Directorate of Energy, Government of the Canary Islands.
Funding
The CEO of Ocean Oasis, Kristine B. Fredriksen, expressed thanks for the financial support for the development of the prototype received from Innovation Norway, the Norwegian Research Council, the European Innovation Council Accelerator EIC and especially the Gran Canaria Economic Promotion Society and ICEX through its Invest in Spain program co-financed with FEDER funds, being present at the event.
Ocean Oasis’ main investor, Grieg Maritime Group, was represented at the event by Kjerstin Hernes, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Ocean Ventures. She said: “There is still much to be done. But we have a strong trust in Kristine and the team. Together, they will deliver as promised – and I can’t wait to taste the first drops of freshwater conjured by waves end ingenuity.”
Future developments
Kristine B. Fredriksen informed that Ocean Oasis has established an R&D office and workshop in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and announced that the company will continue developing activities in the Islands, starting with the Gaia prototype.
Once this stage has been completed, with the testing of the desalination plant at the PLOCAN test site, a second installation will be built. In this phase, the prototype will be scaled with the capacity to produce water for consumption. It will be connected to the water distribution system to help tackle water stress in a sustainable way. This phase is supported by the EU EIC Accelerator.
Desalination growth and offshore potential
Currently, more than 300 million people depend on desalination for their water supply, accounting for about 1% of the total freshwater supply. Climate change and the depletion of traditional resources are increasing the need for desalination, and it is estimated that this will have to double by 2030 to meet the needs of the population.
However, traditional desalination requires large amounts of energy, leading to a large carbon footprint and high cost. From this premise, Ocean Oasis points out that desalination that uses wave energy brings a new dimension and additional opportunities to supply desalinated water without emissions, at a competitive cost, and without the use of valuable land.
The use of offshore wave energy in deep waters also allows a clean capture of water and the discharge of brine in a sustainable way, minimizing the environmental impact.
Ocean Oasis markets
Ocean Oasis technology can be used on the coasts of the world where wave action is sufficient, including, among others, the Canary Islands, South Africa, Morocco, Chile and Australia.
The potential for application in the Canary Islands presents a great opportunity to supply the islands with desalinated water with reduced environmental impact and cost. In this sense, the company hopes to build and install its first commercial installations in the Canary Islands.
Nov 21, 2022
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