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.
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