The Norwegian group Ocean Oasis is testing “Gaia” in Gran Canaria, a wave-powered desalination pilot buoy producing fresh water directly from ocean energy, with zero emissions.
The Norwegian company Ocean Oasis has been present in Gran Canaria for over a year, building up its activities in Las Palmas. Through a collaboration with the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN), they have planned for the offshore testing of their fully functional prototype buoy “Gaia”. Ocean Oasis develops technology for offshore renewable desalination, where wave energy is used to run a conventional reverse osmosis desalination process onboard to lead after desalinated water to shore.
In the beginning of September, Gaia could be seen leaving the Port of La Luz in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (see image) on towage by Boluda Towage at noon. This was part of Ocean Oasis’ testing activities, and the company confirmed good results without any major challenges during the testing.
Kristine B. Fredriksen, Ocean Oasis’ CEO has stated, “Our testing in Gran Canaria is a great milestone for the company. We are truly grateful for the local support we have received in Gran Canaria. We are looking forward to continued collaboration ahead”.
Ocean Oasis’ establishment in the Canaries through its wholly owned subsidiary Ocean Oasis Canarias, S.L. has received support from ICEX Invest in Spain and SPEGC. In addition, the current test activities are part of a project co-funded by the European Union EIC Accelerator.
Ocean Oasis and PLOCAN are DESAL+ Living Lab platform collaborating companies. Their developed activities are aligned with the objectives of this platform regarding the desalinated water-energy nexus and the use of innovative renewable solutions with high technological efficiency for desalination.
English