With water scarcity looming over a growing global population, some companies are betting on the oceans to solve the crisis. The idea: convert seawater into safe, drinkable supplies on a massive scale. But is this vision realistic—or just a distant dream?
It’s one of Earth’s great paradoxes: the planet is covered by water, yet according to the UN, nearly 40% of people worldwide face water shortages. That pressure has driven businesses to develop new methods for transforming abundant seawater into fresh water.
The Wall Street Journal points out that desalination has been around since the 1960s, but it comes with a serious drawback: energy consumption. “Desalination is the most expensive way to make water. There’s no advantage,” says industry specialist Tom Pankratz. The simplest technique—boiling seawater—works, but at an enormous cost.
Reverse osmosis and underwater plants
In the 2000s, a breakthrough came with reverse osmosis, which filters salt from water. It uses about half as much energy as boiling and is now common worldwide, though still relatively expensive since it requires significant power.
Ocean depth © CNES CLS
New players are now pushing the concept further—literally deeper. Flocean in Norway, Waterise in the Netherlands, and San Francisco–based OceanWell are installing their systems hundreds of meters underwater. There, natural ocean pressure acts as the filter, just like in reverse osmosis, but far more efficiently—cutting energy use by around 40%.
The process also returns salt directly to the ocean, where it poses no risk to marine ecosystems. With the rapid growth of underwater robotics, these once-unreachable technologies are becoming more practical than ever.
When will it become a viable business?
Despite the innovation, these companies still struggle to secure broad adoption. Their strategy is to partner with governments first and then open the door to commercial expansion.
A solution to future water shortages? © Brian Jackson, Adobe Stock
Signs of progress are emerging. Flocean aims to launch a facility by 2026 that could produce 1 million liters of fresh water daily. Waterise is developing a project in the Gulf of Aqaba, between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, to generate 25 million liters every day.
But challenges remain. Will these plants require costly upkeep? Will they stay efficient as oceans warm? And can they truly deliver financial viability in the long run? For now, these are open questions—but the race to unlock the ocean as a drinking water source has never felt closer to reality.
Hugo Ruher
Science journalist
Science journalist, I am above all passionate about space, which is what inspired me to pursue this specialty. Drawn to science in general, I also closely follow news related to the environment and technology.
After earning a degree from Sciences Po Toulouse, I began working in radio, covering general news, international issues, and even local problems. At the same time, I started a career as a science journalist, first focusing on space and later on environmental topics.
Making complex information simple
A large part of my work involves reading scientific studies published in various journals, texts that are often complex or downright indigestible! My goal is to extract information from them and make it accessible to a broader, non-expert audience. This ambition is what truly drives me.
This path has led me to write for teen magazines like Cosinus, highly specialized publications such as Industrie & Technologies, as well as more mainstream outlets like Numerama or Le Monde.
In addition to that, I also sometimes write about topics that are a bit more “lightweight.” The digital world, ranging from the use of social media to AI, and even the culture around video games—are areas that I find fascinating and worth covering with a serious approach.
