The visit of DANFOSS delegation to the Canary Islands Institute of Technology forms part of the public-private collaboration driven by the DESAL+ LIVING LAB, aimed at boosting innovation and the development of sustainable solutions for the water industry in the Canary Islands.
The Canary Islands Institute of Technology (ITC), a public company of the Government of the Canary Islands, welcomed last Thursday at its Pozo Izquierdo facilities a delegation from of the multinational DANFOSS, a global leader in technological solutions for efficient water management, headed by its Vice President, Michael Bjorn.
The DANFOSS delegation was received by the ITC’s CEO, Guayarmina Peña, together with the Director of R&D&I, Gonzalo Piernavieja, and the Head of the Water Department, Baltasar Peñate. The visit also brought together representatives of industrial companies and operators of desalination plants from across the archipelago.
The purpose of the meeting was to strengthen ties between the two entities, which are already cooperating on the development and validation of energy recovery devices specifically designed for brine treatment plants. This line of work falls within the framework of the European project IDIWATER – funded 85% by the ERDF through the Interreg MAC 2021-2027 programme – coordinated by the ITC under the umbrella of the DESAL+ Living Lab, a public-private ecosystem led from the Canary Islands and recognised by the European Commission as a singular research infrastructure in desalination and water technologies.
During the visit, DANFOSS representatives had the opportunity to see first-hand the technological capabilities and testing and validation infrastructures for water technologies that the ITC makes available to the research and business community through the DESAL+ Living Lab, as well as the potential of the Canary Islands as a hub for talent attraction and strategic R&D projects in desalination. Among other R&D facilities, the DANFOSS team visited the DESALRO 2.0® desalination plant, a validation platform for high-efficiency reverse osmosis technology that incorporates equipment from the company among its components.
According to ITC’s CEO, Guayarmina Peña: “The ITC is firmly committed to transferring knowledge and technology to the productive sector, and water is a strategic field in which the Canary Islands hold decades of experience and leadership. Through IDIWATER, and with the support of institutions, companies and public administrations, we work to foster innovative solutions in this area, with initiatives such as the DESAL+ Living Lab.”
DESAL+ LIVING LAB: an international benchmark ecosystem
Created in 2017, the DESAL+ Living Lab is an open ecosystem for research, demonstration and knowledge transfer in desalination, the water-energy nexus and the integration of renewable energies. It provides universities, research centres, manufacturers and operators with unique infrastructures such as pilot desalination plants, water analysis laboratories and testing areas under real operating conditions.
Its main objective is to position the Canary Islands as an international benchmark in desalination, generating specialised employment, attracting R&D&I projects and delivering practical solutions to overcome the sector’s technological challenges.
A successful precedent: DESALRO 2.0®
Collaboration between ITC and DANFOSS has already borne fruit with the DESALRO 2.0® project, a reverse osmosis desalination system designed by the ITC that has achieved a world milestone in energy efficiency, with consumption in the range of 1.84–1.89 kWh/m³, surpassing the current Guinness World Record of 2.27 kWh/m³.
This achievement has been made possible thanks to the integratio n of state-of-the-art components, including DANFOSS positive displacement pumps, which deliver optimum energy performance. The modular and scalable plant design of DESALRO 2.0® is already being replicated in new installations in the Canary Islands and abroad, setting a new global standard for sustainability in desalination.
Driving public-private collaboration
This meeting with DANFOSS’ executive team highlights ITC’s commitment to promoting public-private collaboration as a pathway to accelerate innovation and to consolidate the Canary Islands as a natural laboratory for technological solutions in water and energy, with the support of initiatives such as IDIWATER.
Through the DESAL+ Living Lab, ITC continues to foster joint projects with international strategic partners that contribute to strengthening water resilience in island regions and minimising the environmental impact of desalination.
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