Plein Soleil, a leading French digital magazine focused on renewable energy in buildings, has featured our innovative project DESOLINATION. We invite you to visit their website to read the full press release and learn more about this exciting venture.
DESOLINATION, an evocative neologism, represents a pioneering €10 million European project involving 19 partners from 12 EU countries. The initiative aims to develop a unique and efficient coupling of concentrated solar power and seawater desalination techniques. The first pilot plant will be deployed in Saudi Arabia, signalling a major step forward in sustainable water production.
Commencing on 1 June 2021, and running through May 2025, the Horizon 2020 DESOLINATION project will introduce groundbreaking technologies to enhance both independent and coupled systems of solar power and desalination. The final demonstration system will be a 2 MW power plant in Saudi Arabia, combining these two promising technologies to achieve unprecedented efficiencies.
Affordable, Low-Carbon Solar Freshwater
Focusing on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, DESOLINATION will test and deploy its prototype at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Leveraging high solar resources and significant demand for desalinated water, the prototype aims to deliver renewable electricity at low costs (<€90/MWh) and affordable freshwater (<€0.9/m3). Additionally, the system will substantially reduce CO2 emissions compared to traditional desalination methods: 30% reduction compared to direct osmosis systems, 40% compared to reverse osmosis, and 70% compared to thermal desalination.
DESOLINATION will innovate in various domains. On the solar power front, CO2 blends will drive more efficient and cost-effective power cycles with controllable parameters. In water desalination, direct osmosis will be developed and linked to membrane distillation, utilising waste heat from the power cycle to produce freshwater. This unique combination will enable the disruptive coupled system to achieve high efficiency in converting waste heat to freshwater.
Throughout the project, EU and GCC countries will collaborate to deliver a high-level technological demonstrator. DESOLINATION brings together some of the world’s leading experts in concentrated solar power, CO2 energy cycle design, desalination processes, separation membranes, and system integration to meet the project’s objectives and ensure strong market uptake post-completion. The project includes 19 partners from 9 EU countries and 3 GCC countries, comprising 13 top universities and research centres and 6 industrial and SME partners.
Visit Plein Soleil’s website to read the full press release and discover more about the innovative DESOLINATION project.
