A Rapidly Deployable Wave Energy Converter for Seawater Desalination in Disaster Response

In the current operational landscape, there are no commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions capable of turning wave power into clean water on a small scale and expedited timeline. Available wave-powered installations and desalination plants are mostly large infrastructure projects that leverage economies of scale. This is typically the result of economic drivers – the availability and price of electrical power and clean water. However, natural disasters often strike where clean water is scarce and local infrastructure is unable to respond quickly, which drives an urgent need for clean water in locations far from these installations. Here, we present the design, modelling, and initial performance of a compact Wave-Energy-Converter (WEC) powering a reverse osmosis desalination system; a simple technical solution that provides clean water on a small scale (~1,000 Liters per day) and is quickly deployable in disaster zones.