Australia Funds Trial Desalination Project

30 July 2010

Carnegie Wave Energy in Australia has won funding for a trial desalination project that aims to integrate desalination plants with wave power technology.

The Australian wave energy and clean technology developer secured half of the A$500,000 project funding ($446,831) from the country's National Centre of Excellence in Desalination.

The project will evaluate the integration desalination technologies with the wave energy technology to produce emission-free desalinated freshwater.

Australia is investing $25m to develop and commercialise new desalination technologies with an emphasis on the desalination process's energy efficiency.

Carnegie has developed a technology that can convert wave energy into zero-emission electricity and produce emission-free desalinated water. The system uses submerged buoys tied to seabed pump units and the motion of passing waves drives the hydroelectric turbines, which helps to desalinate the water.