Blog News

DESAL+ Living Lab participated in the One Water Alliance General Assembly, held on 17–18 September 2026 in C, bringing together more than 110 participants from across Europe and beyond to exchange knowledge, strengthen connections and explore new opportunities for collaboration in the water sector. The Alliance currently brings together 148 organisations from 30 countries, connecting stakeholders across the water, marine and maritime sectors. The One Water Alliance is a collaborative community bringing together organisations from industry, research and academia to promote a more integrated approach to water challenges and foster joint initiatives across sectors and countries. Its activities aim to connect expertise and create opportunities for collective action, innovation and collaboration across the water ecosystem. The General Assembly provided an opportunity to learn about the Alliance’s latest developments and future priorities, as well as to engage with European initiatives and funding opportunities. The programme included contributions from the European Commission on topics such as maritime innovation, the European Water Resilience Strategy, InvestEU financing and upcoming European Innovation Council opportunities. The event offered a valuable opportunity to connect with partners, exchange experiences and strengthen relationships with stakeholders from across the European water innovation ecosystem. Networking sessions and collaborative activities focused on connecting organisations around project ideas, potential partnerships and future consortia, creating opportunities for further cooperation. The event also provided an opportunity to explore innovative technologies and solutions presented by startups, companies and technology providers, as well as to exchange perspectives on future collaboration in research, innovation and technology development. Through its attendance in the One Water Alliance community, DESAL+ Living Lab continues to strengthen its international network and identify new opportunities for knowledge exchange, collaboration and the development of innovative solutions for the water sector.

Public innovation, territorial transformation and sustainability were at the centre of “Governing the Future”, an event organised by the Government of the Canary Islands through the Islas Responsables (IRLab) initiative, held on 3 September 2026 in Tenerife. The event brought together representatives from public administrations, universities, innovation laboratories, companies and organisations to discuss how territories can respond to complex challenges and turn public strategies into tangible results. As part of the programme’s “Territories that Experiment” session, DESAL+ Living Lab was presented as an example of an innovation ecosystem contributing to a more sustainable and resilient Canary Islands. The five-minute Flash Talk highlighted the Living Lab’s capacity to develop, test and validate innovative water solutions under real operating conditions, bringing together research, technology and the needs of the territory. The presentation showcased recent examples of innovation developed within the DESAL+ Living Lab ecosystem and their transition from experimentation towards practical application and technology transfer. These included DESALRO 2.0®, an innovative seawater reverse osmosis system developed by ITC and tested at the Living Lab facilities in Pozo Izquierdo, which achieved a certified specific energy consumption of 1.794 kWh/m³ and Guinness World Records recognition as the desalination plant with the lowest recorded energy consumption worldwide. Other examples included brine valorisation technologies and an AI-based tool developed by GRRES-ULPGC and EMALSA to forecast daily water demand at the Las Palmas III desalination plant. The participation in “Governing the Future” highlighted the role of DESAL+ Living Lab as a real-world environment for water innovation, where research, infrastructure and collaboration converge to address territory-specific challenges. Through its network of test and validation environments and collaboration with public and private stakeholders, DESAL+ Living Lab continues to support the development, demonstration and transfer of innovative water technologies, reinforcing the Canary Islands’ role as a living environment for water innovation.