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The first off-grid water desalination system 100% powered by renewable energies

Project description

Innovative desalination system using renewable energy

Water scarcity is a growing problem in the modern world. Europe in general and the Mediterranean region in particular are already facing problems related to the low availability of water. As 40 % of the EU population lives in coastal areas, seawater is a potential source of drinking water. However, desalination technologies are expensive with high energy costs. The EU-funded W2W - Water to Water project will promote an innovative desalination system that uses renewable energy and provides clean water from seawater or salty groundwater. The system is mobile and easy to deploy even in humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations.

Objective

Water scarcity is probably one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. According to the United Nations, it affects more than 40 percent of the global population, and by 2050 more than 5 bn people could suffer water shortages. Europe is not an exemption, as one third of European countries have relatively low availability of water. In Mediterranean area there is both a severe lack and great demand for water. However, climate change and growing water demand is projected to increase water shortages in other EU regions.
The ocean is seen as a promising source for providing drinking water to the more than 40% of EU population living in coastal areas. However, traditional technologies for water desalination are highly energy demanding and the capital and operation costs are not affordable for small to medium-sized applications. W2W-Water to Water is a state-of-the-art desalination system that tackles these two challenges. It has been originally conceived to be used with renewable energies (intermittent power) and to provide clean water from seawater or brackish groundwater. It is easily scalable, mobile and rapidly deployable even in remote areas. It is highly versatile, and it adapts to be used in multiple applications such as: drinking water delivery in low-income and developing countries, humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations or to support the water distribution in intense touristic areas during the dry season.
We are Rainmaker, a Dutch SME focused on developing sustainable and decentralized water purification technologies to produce clean water. We have planned the activities required to build, install and validate the first W2W industrial unit, providing around 80 m3 of clean water daily. The market deployment of W2W will start in 2021 and by 2025, we expect having installed 200 units worldwide. This will make Rainmaker grow up (18 new jobs) and will place Rainmaker at the forefront of sustainable water supply.

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

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Coordinator

RAINMAKER HOLLAND BV
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 2 345 474,77
Address
GALIEISTRAAT 32 H
3029 AL ROTTERDAM
Netherlands

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
West-Nederland Zuid-Holland Groot-Rijnmond
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 3 350 678,25
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