Flocean subsea desalination
Published 28 October 2023; updated 21 September 2026; 3-minute read. Flocean uses subsea seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) to make freshwater from deep water. The automated, unmanned system is modular and scalable. Below 200 m, the page says sunlight and resulting algae/bacteria are limited, helping avoid biofouling and pretreatment; deeper water also offers more consistent quality and temperature. It uses natural hydrostatic pressure (described as 40–50 bar) to draw freshwater through the RO membrane, and claims 30–50% lower energy use.
The company says the approach can halve levelised water cost and use 95% less land than conventional desalination. It avoids chemical pretreatment and says its low-salinity brine concentrate disperses without harm to marine life. The article contrasts this with land-based SWRO’s costs, energy use, chemical discharge and concentrated brine. The company says the system can provide freshwater for people, agriculture and industry.
Flocean said it shipped a first patent-protected subsea RO demonstrator to the Red Sea for a major desalination operator. Its business model targets water-stressed coastal areas where 400 m-deep water is within 10 km of shore. The updated page states Flocean AS separated from FSubsea in 2024; team history includes deployment of 60+ subsea pump systems and contribution to the first subsea water-treatment plant. Market forecast in article: USD 16.84 billion in 2022 to USD 33.38 billion in 2030 (projection).
Availability: available. Categories: agritech and food production; water and wastewater. Linked UN SDGs: 2, 6, 12 and 14. Public contact: Alexander Fuglesang, Founder & CEO; page displays awf@flocean.green. Company: FLOCEAN AS, Caspar Storms vei 21, 0664 Oslo, Norway; flocean.green. Embedded video unavailable in the page state. No event listings or participation fees are displayed.
Public-page recheck on 8 October 2026: no phone-number reveal control appeared in the loaded contact card.