Sustainable Desalination Living Lab

The Sustainable Desalination Living Lab aims to improve the water-energy-food nexus by providing solutions for decarbonizing desalination, currently promoted as alternative source of water, and implementing circular economy schemes through brine valorisation, using seawater as a source of critical materials. It gathers CIEMAT (Plataforma Solar de Almería) and CIESOL research experience and advanced test infrastructures in solar desalination and brine valorisation, the Provincial Council of Almería and the Central Board of Users of the Aquifers, which includes farmers and municipalities offering real-life testing environments. Besides piloting and demonstrating technologies of academic and industrial stakeholders, collaboration is fostered within a Community of Practice including a wide range of regional interdisciplinary stakeholders, from users to public authorities. The ultimate goal is to achieve strategic management of sustainable water resources with a certification as an added value for agriculture and tourism industries. The Sustainable Desalination Living Lab is included in the Atlas of water-oriented Living Labs of the Water4All partnership.

Areas of work:

• Agriculture and (Agri-) Food
• Circular Economy
• Energy
• Water (Blue Economy)