A floating solar-thermal desalination platform for low-infrastructure freshwater production.

SALINA combines thermal localisation, passive salt management, vapour recovery and heat reuse within a modular floating architecture designed for practical deployment.

TECHNOLOGY

How SALINA Works

01 — Capture sunlight

Solar energy is concentrated close to the evaporating surface rather than heating the full body of water.

The floating evaporator remains connected to the larger saline source, allowing continuous replenishment of water and passive exchange of salt.

02 — Manage salt passively

03 — Recover freshwater

Generated vapour is guided toward condensation surfaces where it can be recovered and collected as freshwater.

Current development focuses on recovering heat released during condensation and using it to support further evaporation.

04 — Reuse thermal energy

CORE PHILOSOPHY

Designed Differently

SALINA is being developed around six principles that guide how the technology should perform outside the laboratory.

Solar-driven

Passive salt management

Low infrastructure

Use freely available solar energy wherever possible.

Maintain the thermal advantages of heating only a small region of water while allowing salts to equilibrate with the larger saline source.

Reduce dependence on high-pressure systems, extensive electrical infrastructure and complex water-treatment plants.

Energy recovery

Modular construction

Local resilience

Retain and reuse thermal energy within the desalination process rather than losing it after a single evaporation-condensation cycle.

Develop systems that can be adapted and scaled using practical materials and accessible manufacturing methods.

Design for long-term operation, maintenance, repair and deployment in real environments rather than laboratory performance alone.

One system, several linked processes.

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

SALINA is being developed as an integrated thermofluid system rather than as a collection of isolated components.

Each stage influences the next. Efficient evaporation only creates useful freshwater if vapour can be transported, condensed, collected and — ultimately — if the released heat can be reused within the system.

TARGET SECTORS

Potential Applications

Coastal and Island Communities

Agriculture and Irrigation

Many island and coastal communities face high water costs despite being surrounded by seawater. SALINA is being developed as a potential decentralised freshwater source for locations where large desalination plants or extensive distribution networks are impractical.

Agriculture increasingly competes with households, tourism and industry for limited freshwater resources. Distributed desalination may provide an additional water source for selected agricultural applications, particularly in coastal regions and areas affected by salinity.

Remote Facilities and Sustainable Tourism

Brackish and Saline Groundwater

Remote lodges, research stations, coastal facilities and environmentally sensitive tourism developments often require freshwater where infrastructure is limited. SALINA could provide a local, solar-driven alternative.

Seawater is not the only potential feedwater. SALINA is also being explored for brackish and saline groundwater applications, extending the concept beyond coastal environments.

SALINA is being developed for settings where freshwater is limited, costly or difficult to produce using conventional infrastructure. Potential applications range from coastal communities and agriculture to remote facilities and saline groundwater sources.

Recover more. Waste less.

CURRENT DEVELOPMENT

SALINA’s current technical focus is latent heat recovery: capturing thermal energy released when vapour condenses and putting it back to work within the desalination cycle.

The next stage is to integrate this approach into the full SALINA system before progressing toward controlled marine validation.

See our development journey

The future of water

is a shared effort.

We welcome conversations with researchers, funders, public organisations, NGOs, universities and future deployment partners.

WORK WITH US

Collaborate with SALINA

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