Objective In order to meet the rising water demand required by an expanding population, which has already crossed the 7 billion markand is expected to reach 8,5 billion by 2030, and 9,7 billion in 2050 , desalination of seawater is envisaged as a solution toprovide a portion of the shortfall to fill the gap between supply and demand. Desalination becomes in many parts of theworld, and also in Europe, a promising option to combat water stress. Nonetheless, desalination plants generate hugevolumes of concentrates, also known as brines, which represent a potential hazard for marine ecosystems. Brines form avery dense hypersaline plume (heavier than normal seawater) that spreads over large areas affecting marine ecosystems,especially to seagrass meadows which are one of the most ecologically important ecosystems in coastal areas. ECOS hasdeveloped VENTURI+ a diffuser solution, with a capacity of minimizing in a 99% the environmental impact associated tobrines discharges due to a potential dilution capacity 131% higher than conventional diffusers. Thus, VENTURI+ representsa technological leap towards tackling one of the most robust environmental barriers that are holding the full deployment ofdesalination plants.ECOS requests funding to elaborate a feasibility study to define market uptake at National, European and International level.The most important markets identified are the Mediterranean region (EU and non-EU countries), the Middle East, the USand other countries such as India and China. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesmarine biologyengineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energyengineering and technologychemical engineeringseparation technologiesdesalinationreverse osmosisnatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes Programme(s) H2020-EU.3.2. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy Main Programme H2020-EU.3.2.5. - Cross-cutting marine and maritime research H2020-EU.3.2.3. - Unlocking the potential of aquatic living resources H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument Topic(s) SMEInst-08-2016-2017 - Supporting SMEs efforts for the development - deployment and market replication of innovative solutions for blue growth Call for proposal H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017 See other projects for this call Sub call H2020-SMEINST-1-2016-2017 Funding Scheme SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1 Coordinator ECOS, ESTUDIOS AMBIENTALES Y OCEANOGRAFIA SL Net EU contribution € 50 000,00 Address Calle alfred nobel 31b 35013 Las palmas de gran canaria Spain See on map Region Canarias Canarias Gran Canaria Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 21 429,00