2024-01-29 09:00:51
The Osmosun company wants to “become a key player in the “low carbon” water market”. In booming markets, it is focusing in particular on solar power and its innovations to desalinate sea water. Presentation.
1.1 billion people suffer from water scarcity across the world. Climate change, by modifying the precipitation regime, is already amplifying the phenomenon and 3.9 billion will suffer from it by 2050 according to the OECD. With this in mind, several companies are banking on the desalination of seawater and brackish water to produce drinking water. Among them, Osmosun is betting on solar energy, in order to “ becoming a key player in the “low carbon” water market ».
The company, which raised 10 million euros in 2023, has already deployed around sixty projects making it possible to produce from 1 to 5,000 m3 of drinking water per day by reverse osmosis, in Africa, the Indian Ocean, South-East Asia and the South Pacific. Last October, it launched Osmosun MA in Morocco, an equal joint venture with the Moroccan industrial group PCS, to respond to the National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Program (PNAEPI). The latter intends to increase the share of drinking water coming from sea water in the country from 11% to 50% by 2030.
A question of pressure and electricity
To filter seawater through the reverse osmosis membrane, it must be strongly pressurized. “ For salty seawater at 35 g/L, the pressure is between 70 and 80 bars », details Quentin Ragetly. And who says high pressure, says high electricity consumption. “ To desalinate 1 m3 of seawater at 35 g/L, approximately 2.5 kilowatt hours are required [kWh] for the reverse osmosis partcalculates the CEO. If you add pumps to fetch sea water further away, supplying high storage at the outlet for fresh water, you can go up to 3-4 kWh. »
To produce water bas carbone “, the main issue lies in the origin of the electricity used. “ The starting point was solar without batteries in order to have the most robust element in remote areasshares Quentin Ragetly, CEO of Osmosun. From now on, we are looking at the best local energy option in terms of CO emissions2 to produce the cheapest desalinated water. Depending on the context [communauté reculée, municipalité, situation d’urgence, agriculture, hôtellerie, industrie minière, activité industrielle, NDLR]we can do hybridization with the network, wind power or install a battery. » Maxime Therrillion, business development manager indicates, as well as “ on sea water, we have a production cost between 80 cents and 1.5 € per m3 ».
Osmosun’s three innovations
The process and the proper functioning of the pumps and membranes are very sensitive to any sudden variation in pressure. Osmosun has thus developed three innovations which make it possible to do without batteries in the case of intermittent electricity production. “Mechanical equipment continuously compensates and stabilizes the pressure, upwards or downwards, in the system when there are changes in electrical power », shares Quentin Ragetly. Without this innovation, “ our competitors must add batteries to smooth electricity production ”, which increases the cost and complexity of projects.
The company has also developed two algorithms to optimize the production of drinking water. The first allows the maximum power of the solar panels to be monitored in real time in order to consume the slightest electron produced. A second consequently redefines the best setting of all the process parameters. “ In real time, we have a system that protects us from pressure and two algorithms that constantly adjust the best level of water production depending on the electrical supply. », summarizes Quentin Ragetly. The company thus ensures all projects. “ For a desalination project, we do the entire design, from the water intake to the connection point for distribution in the network ».
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