Chartres, February 29, 2024 – OSMOSUN®, a leading player in the solar-powered desalination of seawater and brackish water solutions, presents an initial assessment of its Kori Odyssey project: 3 small-capacity units installed, 8 in the process of installation, about ten similar projects under negotiation, an identified network of partners, recognized reputation, and the beginning of a new phase of the program.

A year ago, OSMOSUN launched Kori Odyssey, an initiative aimed at developing and implementing customized water access programs using solar energy in the isolated areas of the South Pacific.

Two stark realities are identified: an accelerating freshwater deficit and a variety of management modes hindering the development and sustainability of projects.

After a year of study in the Pacific region, over 10 countries, 40 islands and villages visited, and 16,000 kilometers covered, OSMOSUN’s team reports a harsh reality: although water is present in the area, a constant supply of fresh, quality water is structurally lacking. Worse still, this water stress is accelerated by climate change which, by making rainfall uncertain, intensifies both droughts and the severity of precipitation. This water deficit also severely affects agriculture.

Secondly, few of the desalination projects previously undertaken in the territory have been sustainable over time. The wide variety of water management modes (centralized, decentralized, community-based, private) introduces complexity for which a single technological solution is insufficient.

Ensuring sustainable access to fresh water in isolated areas of the Pacific: OSMOSUN’s response

Faced with these challenges, and armed with knowledge of both the needs and the actors or existing structures, OSMOSUN has implemented two very concrete types of responses.

For the private sector, the installation of autonomous osmosis units powered by solar energy offers an ideal solution. By supplementing an existing system, it secures the supply of fresh water. OSMOSUN has already delivered several units to hotels and family pensions in French Polynesia. New contracts are also in advanced negotiations in the hospitality sector. The mining industry continues to show interest, with an operational installation in New Caledonia since 2021.

Given the public sector’s wide diversity of situations and management modes, OSMOSUN offers funders one of its three standardized models for each type of context. Based on the technological solution that balances the need for frugality in isolated contexts and the technicality of remote supervisions, a hybrid management model is always proposed, associating public agencies with local private support, as close to the sites as possible. These partner companies, selected for their skills and reliability, are trained and can themselves benefit from support via the OSMOSUN hotline. The involvement of these private actors, from a role of assistance to the public agency to the operation of the infrastructure, is the main adjustment between these hybrid models.

This two-tier value proposition is particularly original and also displays unprecedented environmental performance: OSMOSUN solutions are low-carbon and environmentally friendly, which has been massively appealing to residents highly sensitive to climate change. This solution is being validated in Vanuatu with the installation of 6 OSMOSUN units in several isolated villages. This multi-site water kiosk program is now intended to be deployed among relevant Pacific communities. The OSMOSUN teams are currently structuring the financing in this direction.

The numerous contacts initiated during this past year on site have allowed OSMOSUN to create a unique network of partners that will facilitate the deployment and sustainability of projects once financing is secured.

“While we could only observe that access to quality water was a real issue in the region,” explains Martin Bourillet, a commercial developer at OSMOSUN, “we also saw how much the inhabitants are environmentally conscious and eager to preserve it. A solution like ours, which uses solar energy to produce fresh water, has found particularly encouraging support among them for the continuation of our actions in these territories.”