Projects
DESAL+ LIVING LAB has been officially running since 2017 and there are several number of R&D&I projects and services done or in progress.
ACTIVE PROJECTS
OTHER PROJECTS
AQUASOL
ADVANCED QUALITY RENEWABLE ENERGY-POWERED SOLUTIONS FOR WATER DESALINATION IN AGRICULTURE AND WASTEWATER RECYCLING (June 2025 – June 2028). Co-financed by:
The major goal of AQUASOL is to develop a technological platform that enables the massive penetration of renewable energy sources into the desalination technology with no impact on the power network and providing disruptive, energy-efficient solutions for saline/ brackish water pre-treatment and filtration, as well as brine and wastewater recycling. The system will be supplied with hybrid energy storage system and connected to the modular fault-tolerant multiport converter.
DESALIFE
Desalination for Environmental Sustainability And LIFE (January 2025-December 2029). Co-financed by:
Ocean Oasis’ offshore wave-powered desalination buoy represents the most competitive alternative to conventional onshore desalination plants for the cost-efficient and zero-emission delivery of freshwater at large scale. The overall objective of DESALIFE is to qualify, prove and validate this breakthrough zero-emission desalination technology, by piloting a small fleet of full-scale desalination buoys in the real operational environment of Arucas-Moya desalination plant, Canary Islands, to reach their full commercial readiness at TRL8, and verify its social, environmental and economic impact. https://www.oceanoasis.co/desalife/
IDIWATER
Increasing applied research, innovation and public-private knowledge transfer in the industrial water sector through resource-sharing (October 2024 – September 2028). Co-financed by:
The main goal of the project is to increase public-private cooperation to address common issues in the industrial water cycle through applied research, with the aim of achieving innovative products, new businesses, and high-value-added smart technologies that are useful and viable for transfer and capitalization in the water and agriculture industries within the cooperation space. More information: https://www.desalinationlab.com/idiwater.
INERTIA
Smart management of a flywheel for integration into an isolated desalination system powered by wind energy (INERTIA). (September 2023 – August 2026)
The INERTIA project proposes an innovative solution: integrating a mechanical system based on a flywheel with smart management between a wind turbine and a desalination plant. This system functions as a dynamic energy storage, balancing the instantaneous fluctuations between wind generation and the desalination plant’s demand, thus ensuring the system’s stability and efficiency.
Sol2H2O Project
European twinning for research in solar energy to (2) water (H2O) production and treatment technologies (December 2022 – November 2025). Co-financed by HE | HORIZON-CSA/HORIZON-AG.
The Sol2H20 project aims to bring together an experienced team of European researchers and partners specialising in solar energy and water technologies to develop strategies for new closed-loop water desalination processes. More information: https://www.sol2h2o.uevora.pt
Aquasost Project
Area for strengthening R&D&i capacities in governance and water and energy efficiency in water transport and treatment technologies (November 2021 – June 2023). Co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the terms set out in the Canary Islands operational programme 2014-2020, with a co-financing rate of 85%. Action under Priority Axis 1: Boosting research, technological development and innovation. Specific Objective: 010a2 OE.1.1.2: Strengthening R&D institutions and creating, consolidating and improving infrastructure. Line of Action: IC.1.1.2.001: Public R&D equipment and infrastructure (ACIISI).
To optimise the capacities of infrastructures and equipment for the development of sustainable solutions in the water sector, as well as to respond to climate change and to the demands incorporated in the circular, blue and digital economy strategies. More Information: https://www.itccanarias.org/web/es/actividad/proyectos/aquasost
NICEST Project
Next generation Industrial Control Engineering for Sustainable water system Treatment (November 2022 – February 2024). Co-financed by Erasmus Mundus Design Measure ERASMUS-EDU-2022-EMJM-DESIGN 101082.
Proposal of a joint master degree in water treatment systems whose main goal is the education of professionals able to take decisions considering the operational, technological and social aspects in Water Management, specifically water reuse and desalination from an integrated engineering perspective, by covering technological, engineering and scientific related subjects. The duration of the programme is two-years by full-time study (120 ECTS). More information: https://www.nicest-eu.org/
DESALRO 2.0 Project
Experimental platform for energy efficient seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination technology (July 2021 – December 2023). Financed by REACT-EU, within the framework of the European Recovery Instrument “Next Generation” (Exp. Sd-2111).
The main objective of this project is to validate the design of an SWRO desalination pilot plant, manufactured in the Canary Islands, for development on an industrial scale (5,000 m3/day) with the lowest possible specific energy consumption (< 2 kWh/m3) and meeting the requirement of a maximum 1 mg/l of boron in the permeate. More information: https://www.itccanarias.org/web/es/actividad/proyectos/desalro-2-0
CPP DESAL+ STARTUPS
Financing the purchase from two private Spanish foundations (Tecnalia and Eurecat) of two emerging solutions to be tested in the DESAL+ Living Lab Platform facilities: one based on capacitive deionisation (CDI) and the other on an improvement to batch reverse osmosis (batch-RO). More information: https://www.desalinationlab.com/technological-challenge/.
E5DES Project
Research and innovation towards Excellence in Technological Efficiency, use of Renewable Energies, Emerging Technologies and a Circular Economy in Desalination (November 2019 – December 2023). Co-financed by
The general objective of the E5DES project is to increase and strengthen international R&D&I in a coordinated way from the joint DESAL+ Living Lab Platform as part of the search for projects and solutions of high technological efficiency with respect to the use of renewable energies, emerging technologies and a circular economy in desalination. More information: https://www.desalinationlab.com/proyectoe5des/es
EERES4WATER Project
Promoting Energy-water Nexus resource efficiency through Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (January 2019 – March 2022). Co-financed by
The EERES4WATER project aims to optimise the energy management of the integral water cycle as well as to implement technological innovations and articulate common policies – at institutional, technical and social level – with a view to increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable sources.
DESAL+ Project
Macaronesian platform for the enhancement of excellence in R&D in desalination and in the knowledge of the desalinated water-energy nexus (January 2017 – October 2022). Co-financed by
The overall objective of the DESAL+ project is to create and consolidate a joint R&D&I platform in Macaronesia with high research capacities and infrastructure of international excellence in the field of water desalination, knowledge of the desalinated water-energy nexus and the exclusive use of renewable energies. More information: https://www.desalinationlab.com/proyectodesal+/es/
SERVICES
Service: Desalted water for agriculture to Saudi Arabia (MEWA).
Enterprise or institution: IDOM CONSULTING ENGINEERING ARCHITECTURE S.A.U.
Type of service: Consultancy
Year: 2022-2023
Description: ITC is consultant to IDOM in a project commissioned by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) of Saudi Arabia; the project aims to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the economic, technical, and environmental feasibility of using desalinated seawater (DSW) in agriculture.
Service: On-line course “Introduction to renewable energy desalination" (Learn Africa).
Enterprise or institution: Fundación General Universidad de La Laguna.
Type of service: Training
Year: 2021 and 2022
Description: Teaching of a 40-hour online course in English for African women.
Service: W2W (SME INSTRUMENT H2020)
Enterprise or institution: RAINMAKER
Type of service: Demo installation and monitoring
Year: 2020-2021
Description: Installation, testing and validation of an industrially viable W2W-wind/solar unit promoted by Rainmaker in the facilities of ITC. The demo allows to produce drinking water while using 100% renewable energy. Rainmaker has been co-funded by the SME Instrument (within Horizon 2020 programme) to test the prototype technology in the ITC facilities.
Service: On-line course “Desalination with renewable energies"
Enterprise or institution: ALADYR
Type of service: Training
Year: 2020
Description: Exclusive edition for Latin America of the on-line ITC training course on “Desalination with renewable energy”, with the aim of providing students with the latest knowledge of the different existing technologies which involve the use of renewable energy to power
different desalination technologies.
Service: Conception and definition of training modules in the framework of a training program in desalination for professionals and research staff
Enterprise or institution: Sociedad de Promoción Económica de Gran Canaria (SPEGC) del Cabildo de Gran Canaria
Type of service: Consultancy
Year: 2020
Description: The objective of this service is to develop a training program in desalination in order to count with specialists with high capacities in this sector.
Service: Technical consulting during the launching process of the CDTI / Cabildo de Gran Canaria Pre-Commercial public Procurement (PCP) in the challenge of seawater desalination.
Enterprise or institution: Sociedad de Promoción Económica de Gran Canaria (SPEGC) del Cabildo de Gran Canaria
Type of service: Consultancy
Year: 2020
Description: To carry out the technical consulting work to support the client and to be part of the technical working group for the launch of the PCP of CDTI (Center for Industrial Technological Development) / Cabildo de Gran Canaria in the challenge of seawater desalination at Spanish level.
Service: On-line course “Membrane Technology, Process and System Design”
Enterprise or institution: European Desalination Society
Type of service: Training
Year: 2020
Description: This 3-day intensive course used to be taught in person in Rome, but due to COVID-19 pandemic situation, EDS contacted ITC to offer the course online whose main objective was to provide knowledge on detailed engineering approach how to design and efficiently operate membrane systems.
Service: New integrated pump and energy recovery system
Enterprise or institution: GRUPO ELEMENT LAS PALMAS S.L.
Type of service: Demo installation
Year: Since 2018
Description: The Canarian company GRUPO ELEMENT LAS PALMAS S.L. is testing at the DESAL+ LIVING LAB facility a new integrated pump and energy recovery system in real conditions for desalination plants of small and medium capacity. The objective is to know the efficiency and robustness of the product before it enters its commercial phase.
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