Experts in desalination technologies from the Technological Institute of the Canary Islands (ITC) presented several research studies addressing the main challenges facing the water sector at the EuroMed Congress of the European Desalination Society (EDS), held in Marrakech, Morocco. The researches, carried out within the framework of the IDIWATER project and the DESAL+ Living Lab platform, focus on energy efficiency in water production, the recovery of high-purity resources from brines, and the application of digital twins to improve processes.
The studies present the results of applied research conducted by the ITC in collaboration with the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) and the University of Seville. A total of three oral presentations addressed some of the key challenges currently facing the water industry: reducing energy consumption in seawater desalination, utilizing brines as a source of raw materials, and applying digital tools to optimize processes and facilitate their industrial-scale implementation. ITC’s participation in this international forum contributes to sharing the advances achieved in the Canary Islands with the scientific community, technology companies, and water management organizations.
Energy Efficiency in Seawater Desalination
Sigrid Arenas presented research focused on scaling up and experimentally validating the DESALRO 2.0® concept, a study developed by the ITC in collaboration with the Department of Energy Engineering of the Higher Technical School of Engineering and the Engineering Laboratory for Energy and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Seville. The study analyzes the reverse osmosis plant located at the ITC’s experimental facilities—part of the DESAL+ Living Lab—in Pozo Izquierdo, Gran Canaria. The plant has a nominal production capacity of 2,500 cubic meters per day and was recognized in 2025 with a Guinness World Record for achieving the lowest specific energy consumption ever recorded, with a value of 1.794 kilowatt-hours per cubic meter of produced water.
The presentation described the scaling and transfer process of this solution to larger facilities, including a 5,000 cubic meter per day rack designed to expand the desalination plant in southeastern Gran Canaria and a modular 2,500 cubic meter per day system for the Gran Tarajal plant in Fuerteventura. The model has already been implemented in eight facilities supplying irrigation water throughout the archipelago, while the ITC is currently developing a new design scalable up to 8,000 cubic meters per day.
Recovery of Resources Present in Brines
Ángel Rivero presented research aimed at completing the brine valorization cycle through the production of high-purity sodium chloride, developed in collaboration with the Department of Process Engineering of the School of Industrial and Civil Engineering at ULPGC. The work combines reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, and osmotically assisted reverse osmosis processes with selective precipitation studies to concentrate brine and remove impurities that hinder subsequent salt recovery.
The results obtained will establish the technical requirements for the final evaporation and crystallization stage, which will complete the process and enable a comprehensive technical and economic assessment under real operating conditions. The objective is to obtain salts of sufficient quality to locally manufacture sodium hypochlorite, commonly used in water disinfection. This approach promotes the utilization of a desalination by-product, reduces dependence on external supplies, and strengthens regional supply chains.
Digital Twins to Accelerate Industrial Scaling
Yanira López presented a roadmap for implementing a digital twin applied to brine valorization, developed in collaboration with the Renewable Energy Systems Research Group of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at ULPGC. The proposal aims to integrate data obtained from pilot facilities with mathematical models and analytical tools capable of virtually reproducing system behavior, anticipating operational risks, and evaluating different operating conditions before scaling up the processes.
The methodology includes test planning, instrumentation and secure data management, the development of hybrid models, validation of results, uncertainty quantification, as well as optimization processes and cybersecurity criteria. Its application would make it possible to identify more efficient operating conditions, improve decision-making, and accelerate the transition of brine valorization technologies from the experimental stage to industrial implementation.
Technological Innovation and Water Management
The studies presented at this international desalination forum are part of IDIWATER, a project coordinated by the ITC and co-financed by the Interreg MAC 2021–2027 programme. The initiative brings together organizations from Macaronesia and West Africa to promote excellence in research, innovation, and technology transfer applied to the industrial water cycle. The project is linked to the DESAL+ Living Lab, an open platform that enables the testing, demonstration, and validation of desalination and brine valorization technologies under real operating conditions.
DESAL+ Living Lab is the result of collaboration between the Ministry of Universities, Science, Innovation and Culture of the Government of the Canary Islands, through the Canary Islands Agency for Research, Innovation and Information Society (ACIISI), the ITC, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), and the Economic Promotion Society of Gran Canaria (SPEGC). This R&D&I ecosystem facilitates public-private collaboration and helps emerging technologies increase their level of maturity, overcome technical barriers, and advance toward market deployment.
Organized by the European Desalination Society, the EDS EuroMed 2026 Congress brings together this week in Marrakech specialists, research centers, technology companies, and public and private sector stakeholders to address the main challenges facing the water industry in terms of energy efficiency, digitalization, sustainability, and resource optimization.
ITC’s participation in this congress strengthens the international visibility of the applied research developed in the Canary Islands to advance seawater desalination as an alternative to water scarcity. It also highlights the importance of scientific collaboration among public knowledge institutions to develop innovative solutions to one of the world’s major challenges.
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