Objective In South of EU tourism is a main business on which up to 90% of employment depends on. Tourism requires ca. 300 Litres/pers./day of drinking water. The areas where most of the hotel resorts and secondary facilities are located scare on potable water. The available source of water is sea and groundwater which has to be desalinated too. Hotels and restaurants are mainly local SME business. Due to the high demand of potable water there is a threat to this increasing industry. SoA technology to desalinate water is Reverse Osmosis, which is expensive in invest and operation and due to the high electrical energy consumption not environmental friendly. The proposing SMEs have come together to develop DeSol as innovative, environmental friendly and efficient process that desalinates water using thermal energy at a low level which will be provided by solar collectors. The low temperature level of evaporation could be achieved through processing at vacuum pressure. Vacuum is generated through the water column in the effluent formed by the gravity of the condensed water. DeSol will be a highly competitive product with significant technological features: Evaporation at temperature of 60deg.C in a vacuum atmosphere generated by the gravity of effluent water column; Raw water charged by a maintenance free pump combining a piston pump with a directly coupled Stirling motor; Modular design for flexible adaptation to low or high capacities required by customers; Control and adjustment by hydro-thermo-mechanical systems to achieve energy efficiency of up to 92%. The system will be cost-efficient, save investment and energy, easy to be operated and designed for low maintenance efforts at a long life time. Innovation barriers have to be overcome to realise the self-adjusting the water column generating the vacuum; Pump driven by direct coupled Fields of science engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energysolar energyengineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processesdrinking water treatment processesengineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringcontrol systemsengineering and technologychemical engineeringseparation technologiesdesalinationreverse osmosisengineering and technologychemical engineeringseparation technologiesdistillation Programme(s) FP6-SME - Horizontal research activities involving SMEs: Specific activities covering wider field of research under the Focusing and Integrating Community Research programme 2002-2006. Topic(s) SME-1 - Co-operative Research (all areas of science and technology) Call for proposal FP6-2003-SME-1 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme Data not available Coordinator FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V. EU contribution No data Address Hansastrasse 27 c Munchen Germany See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Participants (8) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all AQUA TREATMENT Ireland EU contribution No data Address Dromadoon, mountain road Portlaoise, co. laois See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data CENTRE DE RECERCA I INVESTIGACIO DE CATALUNYA S A Spain EU contribution No data Address C/margallo 12 Barcelona See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data CLUB MEDITERRANEE S.A. France EU contribution No data Address 11 rue de cambrai Paris See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data FM ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITED Ireland EU contribution No data Address Greenbank industrial estate Newry, county down See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data MASCHINENBAU LOHSE GMBH Germany EU contribution No data Address Unteres paradies 63 Heidenheim-oggenhausen See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data OPTICAL PRODUCTS LIMITED United Kingdom EU contribution No data Address The shrubberies 9, george lane, south woodford London See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data TERMO-GEN AB Sweden EU contribution No data Address Olarve, hangvar Laerbro See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data WATTPIC ENERGIA INTEL-LIGENT S.L. Spain EU contribution No data Address C/ santa eugenia 64 1r2a Girona See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data