This is a space for the development of new desalination systems, brine valorization, and the use of renewable energy, where universities, research centers, public bodies, and companies collaborate.
Last June, the WAVE Innovation Center (Water Added Value European Center) was inaugurated at the La Caleta desalination plant in Adeje —an initiative by Aqualia‑Entemanser, supported by the Adeje City Council.
This center is a European reference for research into novel desalination methods, brine valorization to recover resources such as critical raw materials, and the exploitation of renewable energies as a step toward sustainable desalination that extracts the true value from seawater.
The inauguration ceremony coincided with the 14th International Congress of the Spanish Association for Desalination and Reuse (AEDYR), held that same week in Santa Cruz. Around 50 people, including several international delegates, attended the opening of WAVE, presided over by the mayor of Adeje, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga, and attended by various authorities as well as representatives from Aqualia‑Entemanser.
WAVE: a key example of public-private collaboration
Víctor Monsalvo, Head of the Eco‑efficiency Area in the Innovation and Technology department, explained that WAVE is an open center for all stakeholders, where joint research initiatives are developed in desalination, brine valorization, and renewable energy use. In fact, at WAVE, some solutions have already been developed and implemented at full scale both in Tenerife and on the Spanish mainland.
With over 3,000 m², the centre’s configuration provides a flexible and versatile platform, ideal for tackling new challenges and developing future solutions in seawater desalination. The various facilities and the highly qualified staff at WAVE provide a unique infrastructure of its kind for R&D, evaluation, demonstration, training, and technology transfer in desalination.
Attendees at the event were given an overview of the Center’s capacities and the national and international projects currently underway.
The IDIWATER Project
Aqualia is one of the partners in the IDIWATER project (linked to the DESAL+ Living Lab platform), coordinated by the ITC and co‑financed by the INTERREG MAC 2021‑2027 Programme. The main IDIWATER goal is to strengthen public-private cooperation and address common challenges in the integrated water cycle through solutions developed via research activity.
At the WAVE Center, IDIWATER activities are under way, with the primary focus being the study and operation of innovative technologies in desalination and brine valorization, such as:
- Validation of advanced sensors for control, monitoring, and optimization of desalination plants, validating pre‑commercial technologies for their deployment and in‑line measurement.
- Energy recovery from brine by means of Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO) technology.
- Treatment of brine to obtain products of industrial interest.
These activities will be carried out over a period of four years (2024–2028) with the aim of developing knowledge and technologies for the integral water cycle.
More information: here.
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