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

Project Information

W2W - Water to Water

Grant agreement ID: 873854

DOI

10.3030/873854

Project closed

EC signature date 29 August 2019

Start date 1 September 2019

End date 31 December 2023

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 3 350 678,25

EU contribution

€ 2 345 474,77

Coordinated by

RAINMAKER HOLLAND BV
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - W2W - Water to Water (The first off-grid water desalination system 100% powered by renewable energies)

Reporting period: 2023-03-01 to 2023-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Water scarcity is a global issue that is becoming increasingly pressing, affecting over 40% of the world's population according to the United Nations. By 2050, it is predicted that more than 5 billion people will suffer from water shortages. Europe is not immune to this challenge, as one-third of its countries have limited access to water. The Mediterranean region in particular, experiences both, severe water scarcity and high demand for water. However, with effects of climate change and growing water demand, it is expected that other regions within the EU will also experience water shortage in the future.

To address the gap between water demand and availability, water supply managers must come up with sustainable and reliable alternative sources while improving resiliency of existing water supply infrastructure. One promising solution is the use of desalination technologies, particularly in coastal areas, since more than 40% of the EU population resides along a coast. Often however, traditional desalination technologies are expensive to implement and operate - making them unaffordable for smaller applications.

The W2W (Water-to-Water) desalination system provides a state-of-the-art solution to this challenge. Designed for use with renewable energy sources, it can provide access to clean water from seawater or brackish groundwater in a scalable and mobile form factor, that is easy to deploy even in remote areas. Its versatility also allows for various end-uses, such as delivering drinking water in low-income and developing countries, supporting disaster relief operations, or providing decentralised water supply in intensely touristic areas during dry seasons.

Rainmaker Holland is a Dutch SME that is dedicated to developing sustainable and decentralized water purification technologies to produce clean water. Its goal is to scale-up and validate the first W2W industrial units, which can provide up to 80 m3 of clean water daily. Their decentralized desalination units will be powered by renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, and can be adapted to different energy mixes (whether connected to a mixed electrical grid or run as the primary load for a standalone micro-grid). Rainmaker Holland aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of this system as a versatile and reliable platform solution to the global water scarcity challenge.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The main highlights of the work performed since the beginning of the project are the following:

WP3 “W2W validation in testing facilities” comprised various validation activities for testing the W2W prototype unit under realistic operating conditions. These tests were performed at the Desalination Living Lab in the Gran Canaria Islands of Spain. The testing activities were split into three phases of increasing energy mix complexity: (a) conventional electrical grid, (b) partial renewable loading with grid-solar combinations, and (c) completely off-grid renewables-only wind-solar combination. This work package was partially finished by end of the third reporting period, with part (c) being finished within two months after the designated project period.

The WP4 “Industrialisation of W2W manufacturing” consisted of developing protocols for manufacturing and distribution of W2W at an industrial scale. The related project activities were completed by the third reporting period.
In WP5 “IPR Management and Regulation issues” the project team worked to ensure that the W2W technology is protected under intellectual property rights and met all necessary performance and safety regulations. Even though the activities were concluded in the second reporting period, the project team continued to work towards securing necessary protections for W2W technology in its existing and evolving embodiments.

WP6 “Dissemination, Communication & Pre-commercialisation” was devoted to implementing all dissemination and communication (D&C) actions as well as the definition of the commercialisation strategy for Rainmaker Holland’s innovation. The commercialisation plan was outlined, and D&C activities were conducted by the end of the third reporting period.

In WP7 “Project Management and Coordination” the project team documented all efforts placed in pursuit of successful achievement of the project in face of unexpected challenges and drawbacks of the initial planning. The associated activities were completed in the third reporting period.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Current desalination technologies are not adapted to intermittency and stochasticity of renewable energy sources viz. fast fluctuation in output from wind or solar energy. The W2W technology platform is a first-of-its-kind water desalination system that uses advanced membrane technologies to provide water for potable use from feeds of high total dissolved solids (TDS). It can achieve this without the need for a connection to the local electrical grid.
W2W offers a sustainable solution to water demand, becoming a clean and environmentally friendly solution where seawater is abundant and access to energy is limited. Water is locally supplied, avoiding transportation-related costs for the supply manager. A complete W2W system includes: (a) wind turbine, (b) solar panels, (c) desalination system and (d) auxiliary electrical components.
In its current form, testing across representative conditions showed the W2W system’s further flexibility in the ability to make use of low-grade/waste thermal energy. When considered in conjunction with its modular design (that allows for scaling-horizontally by combining multiple units), the platform can be used for various use cases apart from desalination, viz. process water production for food and green hydrogen industries, cooling of modern datacentres, and cogeneration of water with renewable energy for renewable energy grid-balancing.
Currently, W2W users are small towns or villages with poor access to fresh water sources and a reliable energy source but proximity to water sources with high TDS content. These may include:
User 1 - Water managers (in the hospitality sector) on islands and in coastal locations with limited or no access to the electricity grid, e.g. tourist destinations in the Mediterranean area which face great temporal variability of water demand together with adverse climatic conditions and high energy prices.
User 2 - Humanitarian agencies and stakeholders working on long-term development and emergency response for water-stressed communities (NGOs, UN agencies…), aimed at assuring access to drinking water in off-grid areas under water stress for disaster/emergency relief.
Rainmaker Holland will first enter the market by targeting sectors where price is not the decisive criteria. Once the W2W platform is upscaled, sectors that are more cost-driven e.g. industrial wastewater treatment, water reuse for public parks irrigation or agriculture.

Evolution of the W2W project.

Prototype W2W installation and demonstrator at Gran Canaria in Spain.