• Advanced renewable offshore desalination technology developed by the Norwegian cleantech start-up Ocean Oasis
• Ocean Oasis led consortium receives €6 million grant from EU
• Project will build and deploy first fleet of Ocean Oasis’ offshore desalination buoys to provide water for 15,000 people in the Spanish island Gran Canaria
• Zero-emission wave-powered freshwater production increases local water production, without increasing energy, CO2 emissions or brine discharge

OSLO, NORWAY – Norwegian clean-tech group Ocean Oasis will turn seawater into freshwater using renewable wave power to address water scarcity issues on the Canary Islands.

Situated off the west coast of Africa, the islands in the archipelago face serious water shortage problems, putting pressure on already depleted water resources. As such, business and communities on the island have become much more dependent on sea water desalination for freshwater.

The consortium’s DESALIFE (Desalination for Environmental Sustainability And LIFE) project will test and validate Ocean Oasis’ wave-powered solution providing desalinated water from floating buoys in deep water off the coast of Gran Canaria.

Floating desalination 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, Gaia, has been employed already to validate the technology at a site offshore the Port of Las Palmas, made possible by co-funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator, Innovation Norway and other funders.

Creating accessible and abundant water

DESALIFE’s consortium aims 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.”

Ocean Oasis’ technology addresses the challenges associated with access to affordable and clean freshwater. More than 300 million people rely on desalination of seawater for their water supply, a number that is expected to double by 2030 due to climate change, droughts, increasing populations and urbanization.

Incorporating innovative systems

The north coast of Gran Canaria was chosen for its wave potential, operating conditions and proximity to existing onshore desalination facilities. The local population currently relies on three desalination plants for drinking water. 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 2,000 m3/day on average, the equivalent of the daily consumption of 15,000 people. This will be achieved without the need to expand the existing on shore 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”.

“The Government of the Canary Islands will continue to focus on evaluating how systems can be incorporated to not only provide greater production efficiency but also allow further deepening on measures contributing to mitigate climate change,” said Councilor Miranda.

Norwegian offshore industry experience

Ocean Oasis’ buoys produce freshwater using membrane-based desalination technology powered directly by wave induced motion, with no need for grid power, any emissions to the atmosphere and without chemicals on board. The technology has been developed for sustainable use of the oceans drawing on 50 years of experience and knowledge development 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 DESALIFE consortium received nearly €6 million in funding from the European Executive Agency on Climate, Infrastructure and Environment (CINEA) under its framework of Circular Economy and Quality of Life Programme. The project will be led by Ocean Oasis Canarias, a subsidiary of Ocean Oasis, which is based in Gran Canaria.

The Consortium include key institutional and private partners: The Canary Islands Institute of Technology (ITC), The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (Plataforma Oceánica de Canarias, PLOCAN), The Group for the Research on Renewable Energy Systems (GRRES) of the Universidad of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) and elittoral, an environmental consultancy specialized in coastal and oceanographic engineering.

A commitment to renewable energy

Miguel Hidalgo, vice president of the Gran Canaria Island Water Council, stated: “The participation of the Gran Canaria Island Water Council in the DESALIFE project, within the scope of insular hydrological planning, represents a strong commitment to promoting and developing reference projects aimed at harnessing renewable energy resources, such as wave energy.”

It is also a central objective in the project to investigate the scalability of the technology to provide fresh water to other islands in the archipelago, which are also experiencing water scarcity issues.

Once operational, the buoys will facilitate the transition toward a sustainable, energy-efficient and climate-resilient economy in the archipelago. They will also demonstrate that the solution has potential for use in other coastal communities, to provide emission-free, cost-effective sources of fresh water.

Photo: Sebastian Feimblatt, COO Ocean Oasis Group and CEO Ocean Oasis Canarias, S.L.

Ocean Oasis has been granted support from the authorities in Spain and Gran Canaria for its establishment and operations in Gran Canaria.

This support goes together with the collaboration with PLOCAN for the testing of the technology demonstration pilot buoy off the coast of Gran Canaria. It is provided to Ocean Oasis’ newly established wholly owned subsidiary in Spain, Ocean Oasis Canarias, S.L.

“We highly appreciate the warm welcome and great support received from local authorities and partners establishing our activities in the island.”

– Sebastian Feimblatt, COO Ocean Oasis Group and CEO Ocean Oasis Canarias, S.L.

The local activities in Gran Canaria are supported by the local government through SPEGC Sociedad de Promócion Económica and ICEX Invest in Spain.

The project proposed to ICEX Invest in Spain by Ocean Oasis during spring 2022 achieved one of the best scores in the Intelligent Technology Fund 2022 call, receiving a grant through the Investment Program for foreign companies in R&D activities.

Aug 10, 2022

Photo: PLOCAN CEO José Joaquín Hernández Brito and Ocean Oasis COO Sebastian Feimblatt.

This week, Ocean Oasis COO Sebastian Feimblatt and CTO Thomas Berge Johannessen visited PLOCAN CEO Jose Joaquin Hernandez Brito and team to formalize the plan towards the research and testing taking place at PLOCAN’s offshore test site later this year.

PLOCAN provides multipurpose technical-scientific service infrastructure that provides support supporting research, technological development and innovation in the marine and maritime sectors. This infrastructure incorporates both onshore and offshore experimental facilities and laboratories.

PLOCAN will provide the necessary research infrastructure and support for the testing of Ocean Oasis’ full-scale pilot desalination buoy. Access to the test site is managed through the MARHIS aggregated infrastructure.

“We are excited to be able to advance our offshore desalination technology with an institution like PLOCAN and continue our R&D activity in Gran Canaria.”

– Sebastian Feimblatt, Ocean Oasis COO

The director of PLOCAN, José Joaquín Hernández Brito, highlights that with direct exposure to the Atlantic Ocean and the presence of the trade winds, the Canary Islands show significant wave energy potential, especially on the north coast of the islands. Estimated data suggests a wave energy range of between 15-20 kW/m. The current proposal of the Canary Islands Energy Strategy (EECan25) 2015-2025 of the Government of the Canary Islands, identifies the use of wave energy potential as a great opportunity to exploit natural resources for the benefit of the islands.

Devices such as the Ocean Oasis, continues Hernández Brito, guarantee the use and viability of this energy resource by applying it to real solutions aimed at lowering the price of drinking water production and the environmental sustainability of regions such as ours with a high dependence on desalination.

Offshore wave-powered desalination in the Canaries presents a great opportunity, to supply the islands with desalinated water and at the same time reduce the environmental impact and cost. Ocean Oasis will establish an office and part of its R&D activities in Gran Canaria.

Feb 15, 2022

Photo credit: Foto NHHS

Ocean Oasis welcomes three students from NHH Norwegian School of Economics.

We have welcomed students from NHH to the team for a new semester, through the SEB ScaleCenter collaboration with the student organization Start NHH.

Ocean Oasis has been located in SEB ScaleCenter, an incubator for sustainable fast-growing start-ups within central Norwegian industries since 2021. SEB has been working with Start NHH since 2020 with a vision to let students work with projects for start-up companies. While aiding these companies with consulting services, students at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) can get work experience and form connections with these types of businesses.

As part of the collaboration between Start NHH and SEB, the Ocean Oasis’ remote workforce team was formed in September 2021 by three students at NHH. Ocean Oasis is excited to welcome Martin Kvarsnes, Luying Yao and Sebastian Johansen to a new semester. Martin (27) is a fifth-year student, Luying (21) is in her third year while Sebastian (21) is a second-year student.

“The students say it is motivating to work on the tasks given when they know that what they are doing can make a difference for Ocean Oasis.

“Ocean Oasis has challenged us with tasks of great importance to them, and at the same time given us a deep look into how quickly things move for a growth company. Being part of this has been a great way to expand on my own abilities and personally I could not have asked for a better activity to do next to school!”

– Sebastian Johansen, student at NHH

For Martin, Luying and Sebastian, working together with Ocean Oasis has been a great way to get real work experience while attending school. Through this work they have achieved a greater understanding of what Ocean Oasis can deliver, the business model and operating market. This upcoming semester the students are looking forward to continuing their work and tackling new challenges that will require them to build on their prior knowledge.

Feb 7, 2022

Liftoff! The students selected for DNV’s Summer Project celebrating the launch of the Ocean Oasis concept project.

Ocean Oasis has a strong relationship with DNV – the world’s leading technical and risk advisory company in the ocean space.

Co-founder and CTO, Thomas B. Johannessen, continues to work part-time for DNV where he holds the position of Senior Principal Specialist, Hydrodynamics & Metocean.

In 2014, Thomas mentored a group of 12 students selected for DNV’s summer student project in that year. Each summer, DNV sponsors graduate students – drawn mainly from the Nordics – to its headquarters in Oslo to work with leading scientists and engineers on technically visionary projects, typically involving the ocean. The summer project in 2014 focused on a wave-powered desalination device dubbed ‘Ocean Oasis’, and the project used the water-stressed city of Cape Town, South Africa, as a test case.

The Summer Project attracted positive internal and external attention, and many felt that DNV should take the project further. However, as a third-party provider of technical assurance, DNV normally does not design, build or operate physical assets, and therefore decided not to participate in the further commercialization of Ocean Oasis.

DNV strongly supports technology that advances ocean health while addressing SDG #6 on access to clean water and sanitation.

“As a signatory to the UN Global Compact’s Sustainable Ocean Principles, DNV is active on many fronts working to ensure that ocean wealth and ocean health find a good balance. For that reason, we are proud of the part we played in the genesis of Ocean Oasis and are watching its growing success, including its backing by the European Innovation Council, with interest. Ocean Oasis has the potential to fix two great challenges at once: water scarcity and decarbonization, and it is a shining example of the repurposing of Norway’s offshore expertise in pursuit of a sustainable Blue Economy.”  

Remi Eriksen, President & CEO, DNV

Ocean Oasis appreciates the valuable backing given by DNV.