Chartres; Cape Town, October 17, 2024 – OSMOSUN^®, a leading provider of solar-powered seawater and brackish water desalination solutions, and its partner IWS (Impact Water Solutions), an integrator and developer of water access solutions, announce that they have produced 10 million liters of fresh water from their seawater desalination unit installed at Lake Ghoubet, Djibouti.

An arid country located on the western coast of the southern outlet of the Red Sea, Djibouti has always suffered from a major shortage of fresh water, making it dependent on its neighbors. The construction of a desalination plant in Doraleh for the capital has provided the beginnings of a response, but many communities, often rural and isolated, continue to suffer from both water stress and energy insecurity.

In this context, African developer Impact Water Solutions (IWS) has targeted communities on the shores of Lake Ghoubet to set up a mini drinking water distribution network, fed by a self-sufficient desalination unit. A long-standing partner of Osmosun, with several installations deployed together and already in operation, IWS developed, financed and then installed this high social impact, low-carbon, fully autonomous project.

This project supplies more than a thousand people with drinking water from an OSMOSUN 7 SW system, powered by a 40kWp photovoltaic plant, with no batteries and no connection to the electricity grid. The installation comprises two 40m tanks³ and 7 km of piping and is controlled by an intelligent system that optimizes the energy supply and distribution of fresh water to the standpipes.

Since its commissioning in the summer of 2023, it has produced 10 million liters of fresh water in a decarbonized way with very low environmental impact. The use of battery-free solar panels to produce and distribute drinking water avoids the emission of almost 45 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

The investment and financial package for this project, drawn up by IWS and its partners under a 20-year contract, means that water will be made available free of charge to the local population. The operation of this plant has created 17 jobs, including 3 skilled ones which are now permanent.

On the strength of this success, Osmosun and IWS are already working on new projects in sub-Saharan Africa to continue to provide access to water for all in a low-carbon, sustainable way.

“We are particularly proud of the success of this impact project, which on its own meets no less than 5 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,” explains Romain Sormani Director of IWS. “Our raison d’être is to develop and operate projects that have a positive impact on their beneficiaries, offering development prospects, while respecting the environment with sustainable solutions. That’s exactly what we’ve done here, and we’re particularly pleased about it.”

“The Djibouti installation is a particularly successful new project, adding to those successfully developed over the years with IWS,” adds Maxime Haudebourg, Managing Director and co-founder of Osmosun. “This installation was a real challenge both in terms of design and deployment, given the country’s extreme temperatures. That’s why reaching this milestone of 10 million liters represents a great satisfaction for us.”

The challenge of accessing safe drinking water is at the heart of the daily concerns of rural communities in Djibouti. How has OSMOSUN technology, deployed by @IWS (Impact Water Solutions) with a micro drinking water distribution network, powered exclusively by solar energy, helped alleviate the precarious situation of semi-nomadic populations around Lake Goubet since 2023?

Through this milestone of 10 million liters produced, we reflect on the impact of this project in transforming the living conditions of local communities in the face of climate change, while paving the way for a sustainable management model.