OSMOSUN, a provider of solar-powered seawater and brackish water desalination solutions, announced the commissioning of its first solar desalination plant in Morocco.
The freshwater produced by this plant installed in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region for Franco-Moroccan company Sand To Green will irrigate a 38-hectare ecological plantation in the Moroccan desert as part of a regenerative agriculture project.
Farming the desert through desalination
Founded in 2022, Sand To Green has developed an agroforestry model, inspired by oases, which reverses soil degradation in order to render desert soil fertile. The model comprises three components: agroforestry software, soil bioengineering and the use of unconventional water —brackish drilling water. Sand To Green enlisted OSMOSUN’s services for the treatment of this water.
“Using unconventional water is one of the keys to our regenerative agriculture model. The use of robust low-carbon water treatment technology of the kind developed by OSMOSUN was a clear choice for us,” said Sand To Green CEO Benjamin Rombaut. “Through our engineering prowess and OSMOSUN’s solar-powered desalination solutions, we have shown that soil degradation is not an inevitable process and can even be reversed by reviving barren land to make it fertile again.”
OSMOSUN installed an OSMOSUN 6BW plant capable of producing up to 140 million m3 of freshwater per day. The water is drawn from underground reserves of brackish water. After treatment, it is used to irrigate 31 hectares of fig, pomegranate and carob tree plantations, as well as plants such as geraniums and rosemary. Maintenance of the installation will be carried out by the OSMOSUN Morocco teams.
In addition, a 7-hectare pilot plantation of halophytes, fodder plants and trees has been created to test the treatment of brine.
First low-carbon project for OSMOSUN Morocco
In October 2023, OSMOSUN announced the creation of OSMOSUN MA, a joint venture set up with Moroccan industrial group PCS. Eight months later, the first project has emerged, providing an effective low-carbon solution to the water stress issue currently facing Morocco, for which the government has launched the National Programme for Potable Water Supply and Irrigation (PNAEPI).
With its local presence, OSMOSUN MA is placed to serve the needs of Morocco as well as the rest of North and West Africa. In these regions, OSMOSUN’s fully autonomous solar-powered seawater and brackish water desalination solution combines access to drinking water, responsible resource management and protection of the environment.
“We are proud to announce this commissioning only months after the creation of our Moroccan joint venture. Morocco is facing an intense water crisis and the needs are huge,” added OSMOSUN chairman and CEO Quentin Ragetly. “By sharing our know-how with the PCS group, we can combine their understanding of local land issues with our low-carbon solutions, enabling us to find a rapid solution to the urgent need for sustainable access to drinking water.”
