Description du projet
Un système de dessalement innovant exploitant des énergies renouvelables
La pénurie d’eau est un enjeu croissant dans le monde moderne. L’Europe en général et la région méditerranéenne en particulier sont déjà confrontées à des problèmes liés à la faible disponibilité de l’eau. Étant donné que 40 % de la population de l’UE vit dans des zones côtières, la mer représente une source potentielle d’eau potable. Cependant, les technologies de dessalement sont onéreuses et leur coût énergétique est élevé. Le projet W2W - Water to Water, financé par l’UE, promouvra un système de dessalement innovant qui recourt à des énergies renouvelables et fournit de l’eau potable à partir de l’eau de mer ou d’eaux souterraines salées. Ce système sera mobile et facile à déployer et pourra même être utilisé dans le cadre d’opérations d’aide humanitaire et de secours en cas de catastrophe.
Objectif
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.
Champ scientifique
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processesdrinking water treatment processes
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energy
- engineering and technologychemical engineeringseparation technologiesdesalinationreverse osmosis
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinateur
3029 AL ROTTERDAM
Pays-Bas
L’entreprise s’est définie comme une PME (petite et moyenne entreprise) au moment de la signature de la convention de subvention.