The IDIWATER project has been strongly represented at the 21st Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES 2026), held in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria from 30 August to 3 September.
Bringing together more than 500 researchers and professionals from around the world, SDEWES 2026 provided an outstanding international platform to discuss how energy, water and environmental systems can be integrated to accelerate the transition towards more sustainable and resilient territories. This was also the first time the conference was held in Spain.
Throughout the conference, IDIWATER contributed through several technical presentations, sharing research results and advances developed within the project, as well as presenting the project itself and its Acceleration Programme, designed to support the development and scaling-up of innovative water technologies.
A key highlight was the dedicated IDIWATER side event: “Smart Water–Energy Systems: Digitalisation, Sector Coupling and Resilient Infrastructure”. The session brought together different perspectives on how digitalisation, artificial intelligence, advanced forecasting, smart desalination, renewable energy integration, wastewater heat recovery, Power-to-Water, flexibility and integrated planning can help transform water infrastructure into more resilient, efficient and low-carbon systems.
Beyond presenting project results, the event opened an international dialogue on an essential question: How can digitalisation and water–energy integration accelerate the deployment of resilient, low-carbon and resource-efficient water infrastructure? This is particularly relevant for islands and water-stressed regions, where desalination, energy security, climate change and resource efficiency are closely interconnected.
The SDEWES experience also provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen connections between research, industry, public institutions and innovation ecosystems, and to explore new opportunities for collaboration and technology transfer.
Through the IDIWATER Acceleration Programme, startups, SMEs, scale-ups, researchers and technology centres can access specialised training, strategic consultancy, mentoring, and testing and validation opportunities through infrastructures such as the DESAL+ Living Lab and the IAT BIOASIS Gran Canaria incubator. The programme offers up to €22,000 in indirect support per selected project and is open until June 2027.
The conference was organised by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), with support from the IDIWATER project, co-funded by the European Union. Through this collaboration, IDIWATER contributed to the organisation of this major international event and to strengthening dialogue and collaboration around innovative water, energy and environmental solutions.
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