Susana Rodríguez Domínguez is Head of Projects at Ocean Oasis and leads the strategic coordination of the European LIFE project DesaLIFE, being implemented in Gran Canaria. In this role, she is responsible for project governance, stakeholder management, and alignment with European, national, and regional sustainability frameworks.
Her work draws on a strong background in marine sciences and extensive international experience in water and ocean renewable energy. Declared a Strategic Project by the Government of the Canary Islands, DesaLIFE proposes a zero-emission desalination solution powered exclusively by wave energy, addressing water scarcity while advancing sustainability and blue economy goals in island regions. Susana plays a key role in linking technological development with environmental, socio-economic, and territorial impact on the Canary Islands, strengthening collaboration between industry, research institutions, and public bodies, and positioning DesaLIFE as a reference initiative in sustainable desalination and blue economy innovation.
Susana, what led you from oceanography to specialising in desalination and marine renewable energies? Was there any project or experience that particularly influenced you?
From an early age I became aware that, in general, we live with our backs turned to rivers and seas. We take their resources and exploit them, but neglect the impact we have on them. My education in oceanography gave me a much clearer understanding of how systems — marine systems in this case — work, of their great potential and also of their fragility when we intervene in them. With this perspective, I became very interested in the question of: how basic needs such as water, food or energy can be met sustainably without compromising the environment?
I have worked internationally in the desalination sector and also in offshore wind in Norway, but the real turning point was when I started working on projects that combined these two areas: desalination and marine energy, where the ocean itself became an active part of the solution. I had this opportunity when I returned to Spain and began working at PLOCAN on the DESAL+ and E5DE5 projects, led by ITC, where I also engaged with other technologists and developers linked to marine renewables and desalination.
2) You mentioned that you have professional experience in Norway and, as I understand it, also in the UK. Which 2–3 practices (technical or managerial) do you think would most accelerate water innovation in the Canary Islands if adopted here?
Based on my experience abroad and in the Canary Islands, I would highlight the implementation of ‘sandboxes’ for early-stage demonstration and the streamlining of administrative processes. I also believe it is essential to commit to structured public–private collaboration from the early stages of innovation, so that there is a shared understanding of objectives and barriers.
In addition, access to financing at higher TRLs needs to be improved, particularly in the so-called ‘valley of death’, when innovation is in the pre-commercial phase. At this stage, there is a solid product, but it still requires financial support to enter the market. Moreover, despite being in a regulatory grey area, compliance with legislation at all levels is still required, so joint efforts are needed to introduce a degree of flexibility. Altogether, this would reduce uncertainty and risk and accelerate the transition from R&D&I to market.
You currently work at Ocean Oasis, a Norwegian–Canarian company focused on developing offshore desalination solutions powered exclusively by wave energy. You specifically coordinate the DesaLIFE project. What makes offshore desalination different from traditional seawater desalination plants?
Offshore desalination decouples water production from land use and from the electricity grid. In the case of DesaLIFE, the wave-powered desalination buoy is located offshore, away from the coast, and operates exclusively using wave energy, with no electrical connection and no fossil fuels. It is therefore a fully sustainable solution that enhances both water and energy resilience.
Furthermore, it avoids occupying coastal land, which in the Canary Islands is highly in demand by other economic sectors and is already shared with conventional desalination plants.
DesaLIFE has recently been declared a Strategic Project for the Canary Islands. What does this designation imply and what opportunities does it open for the water–energy ecosystem in the islands?
The designation of DesaLIFE as a Strategic Project entails significant administrative streamlining. It has also increased institutional visibility and opened up new opportunities for collaboration and replicability, which has been very positive for the project.
Overall, we are very pleased with the support the project is receiving, as it once again positions the Canary Islands as an international benchmark — this time in offshore wave-powered desalination.
To move from pilot to commercial deployment, what would you say is currently the main bottleneck? If you had to choose one technical and one non-technical (regulation, market, operations), which would they be?
In general terms, the main bottleneck in moving from pre-commercial to commercial phase is the regulatory framework. These are new technologies that do not fit neatly into regulatory schemes designed for other types of technologies or more conventional infrastructure. This creates a need to adapt permits, concessions and operating models, which are critical to scaling these technologies to market. It is also true that technology evolves very quickly and regulation must be able to keep pace.
From a technical perspective, it is essential to consolidate long-term reliability in a very demanding marine environment, while continuing to optimise cost per cubic metre to ensure competitiveness with traditional desalination solutions.
How is a solution designed to minimise impacts (noise, moorings, interaction with fauna, discharges), and what lessons are you learning from working with Canarian partners in the consortium?
The key is to move away from viewing environmental impact as an imposition or as a criterion assessed only in later stages, and instead integrate it as a design criterion from the outset. This involves working on aspects such as optimised mooring systems, advanced offshore brine management, and continuous environmental monitoring during pre-installation, installation and operation. In other words, there must be a robust design plan integrated with environmental monitoring, always in collaboration with partners, coordinated with public authorities and with all relevant stakeholders.
Working with our Canarian partners has been fundamental, as they bring extensive experience in addressing tasks within their areas of expertise. They also provide very valuable local knowledge and networks that facilitate connectivity and dissemination of the project. Everyone is approaching this project with a very positive attitude and demonstrating strong commitment and a collaborative spirit focused on project success.
Considering the recent storms not only in the Canary Islands but across Spain, how is a plant designed to withstand extreme events while maintaining continuity of service? What design decisions make the difference?
Structures must be designed to withstand extreme events. To do so, historical wave and wind data series spanning more than 50 years are used to analyse extremes and structurally size the desalination buoy. Mooring systems are designed according to seabed conditions at each location, safe operating modes are planned for storm conditions, and modular systems are designed to provide redundancy and resilience—all from the outset, taking into account the harshness of the marine environment. In addition, we rely on extensive Norwegian offshore engineering expertise, matured through many years of real-world operational experience.
From your international experience, which mechanisms work best to ensure that R&D reaches companies rather than remaining solely within public research centres?
My experience has shown me that demonstration projects led by companies have a higher likelihood of reaching the market, as there is a genuine interest in commercial exploitation of the product. Talent mobility between research centres and the private sector is also essential in order to enable effective knowledge transfer between the two.
Finally, where do you see offshore desalination in the Canary Islands in 5–10 years, and what would need to happen to get there? Will we be leaders in offshore desalination?
That is indeed the goal: to become leaders in offshore desalination. Hopefully, in five years’ time we can meet again and celebrate it. I believe that wave-powered desalination represents a strategic complement to conventional onshore production in the Canary Islands, enhancing water and energy resilience. To get there, it is essential to demonstrate technical reliability—which is precisely what we are working on in DesaLIFE—by proving performance in real conditions. At the same time, it requires adapting regulation and consolidating a local value chain linked to the blue economy. The Canary Islands have the opportunity to position themselves as leaders in renewable offshore desalination, just as they already are in conventional desalination, and we cannot afford to miss that opportunity.
DesaLIFE project is integrated into the DESAL+ Living Lab Platform, a collaborative research and innovation ecosystem focused on advancing desalination technologies and their integration into sustainable water management solutions.
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