Ocean Oasis funding news – Oslo-based Ocean Oasis Raises €6 Million in Funding

The creation and installation of the first fleet of offshore desalination buoys, intended to alleviate Gran Canaria's water scarcity, will be made possible by this significant expenditure.

The islands in the archipelago, which is off the west coast of Africa, are severely affected by water scarcity, which puts further strain on the water supplies that are already scarce. As a result, desalinating seawater has become increasingly important to the island's businesses and communities in order to provide freshwater.

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The Ocean Oasis wave-powered system, which produces desalinated water from floating buoys in deep sea off the coast of Gran Canaria, will be tested and validated as part of the consortium's DESALIFE (Desalination for Environmental Sustainability And LIFE) project.

The amount of accessible, sustainable freshwater for the locals and farmers in the island's north will rise thanks to floating desalination buoys. Gaia, a pilot buoy, has already been used to test the technology at a location offshore the Port of Las Palmas. This has been made feasible by further funding from Innovation Norway, the European Innovation Council Accelerator, and other sources.

Kristine Bangstad Fredriksen, CEO and Co-Founder of Ocean Oasis, said: “At Ocean Oasis we believe that by harnessing the power of renewable energy, such as wave power, we have the potential to create a future where clean water is accessible and abundant, not scarce. We are honoured to lead the DESALIFE project consortium to deliver renewable powered desalinated water, with zero emissions, to Gran Canaria. This first-of a-kind project will demonstrate our solution for the Canary Islands, and the potential to deliver fresh water to other coastal areas and island nations facing water scarcity.”

The method developed by Ocean Oasis tackles the problems related to the lack of inexpensive, pure freshwater. The number of people who rely on seawater desalination for their water supply—more than 300 million people—is predicted to quadruple by 2030 as a result of climate change, droughts, population growth, and urbanization.

Gran Canaria's north coast was selected because to its wave potential, operational environment, and close proximity to already-existing onshore desalination plants. Three desalination facilities currently supply drinking water to the local populace. By combining its own production with the freshwater produced offshore by the desalination buoys, the Arucas-Moya seawater desalination plant is one of those that will help with the DESALIFE project's construction and operating stages.

Councilor Miranda said, “The Government of the Canary Islands will continue to focus on evaluating how systems can be incorporated to not only provide greater production efficiency but also allow further deepening on measures contributing to mitigate climate change,”

Dr. Thomas B. Johannessen, CTO, co-founder and inventor of the technology commented: “We are grateful and feel privileged to be given this opportunity to take the Ocean Oasis technology to the next commercial level. Wave power is abundant, and a concentrated energy form compared with solar and wind power. Whereas the power of the waves must be treated with respect in engineering and design of offshore structures, the pilot testing carried out to date suggests that direct desalination is a very good way to utilise wave energy bypassing many of the challenges associated with electricity production by wave power.”

About Ocean Oasis

The Canary Islands-based company Ocean Oasis Canarias is committed to providing a clean substitute for the energy-intensive desalination technology now in use, increasing the availability of freshwater in coastal areas. The company is testing a novel desalination buoy that will be used in DESALIFE that is powered by waves.