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Environmental considerations have limited where desalination can deploy. New DNV modeling finds Flocean One’s subsea concentrate plume is limited to just a few meters—showing how seawater can become fresh drinking water without disrupting critical marine ecosystems. The world is running out of fresh drinking water. The ocean is the largest untapped water source—but scaling desalination means proving we can turn seawater into drinking water without creating new environmental h

Flocean One is producing one million liters of drinking water per day from seawater more than 500 meters below the surface. The system has operated at full capacity with zero disruptions since entering 24/7 operation earlier this month. The team takes a drink of the first water produced by Flocean One Less than a month after its official opening in Mongstad, Norway, the system has entered continuous commercial operation. The plant is monitored remotely from Flocean's offices,

Industrial deployment in Norway demonstrates subsea desalination technology viable at scale—ending decades of research and development work Mongstad, Norway — June 22, 2026 — Flocean has successfully reached "first water" and is now producing freshwater at full capacity from Flocean One, an industrial-scale subsea desalination system deployed at 500 meters depth off Norway's west coast. For decades, subsea desalination remained theoretical. Flocean One changes that as the fir

Flocean and WaterConnect today announced the signing of a development agreement to jointly prepare and structure a first-of-its-kind subsea desalination project in the Maldives, to deliver sustainable, energy-efficient water supply to Malé and Hulhumalé. The partnership will pair WaterConnect’s catalytic, impact-driven financing capabilities with Flocean’s pioneering subsea desalination system, creating an investment-ready project that will improve the reliability of water su

Flocean has been selected as a Semifinalist in Track A: System-Level Innovation of the XPRIZE Water Scarcity competition, a global challenge sponsored by the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative designed to drive widespread access to clean water by creating reliable, sustainable, and affordable seawater desalination systems. The competition exists because water scarcity is accelerating faster than the infrastructure being built to solve it. Our subsea desalination technology o

Flocean One has completed a 300-mile journey by ship and truck to Mongstad, an industrial complex on Norway's west coast. The pod will be deployed at 500 meters depth to soon begin producing 1 million liters of freshwater daily. Getting a 22-ton subsea system to the deployment site safely requires precision. After months of assembly and testing in Oslo, the unit arrived on-site intact. Our team is now completing final systems checks before Flocean One descends for testing an

Flocean is named to Fast Company's 2026 Most Innovative Companies list, honoring the companies making the most profound impact across industries. Fast Company’s recognition of our work to solve the freshwater crisis with subsea desalination is another mark of momentum for a world moving towards more resilient water infrastructure. Innovation That Goes Deeper The freshwater crisis is accelerating. Global water use has risen 25% since 2000, and by 2030, demand is projected to

Flocean has been selected as a winner of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) prestigious Water Resilience Challenge. Amidst a record number of applications, Flocean was selected by UpLink, the global change platform of WEF that seeks to scale purpose-driven innovations to tackle the world’s most urgent challenges. The Water Resilience Challenge recognizes Flocean as one of a few startups pioneering new ways to build water resilience. We look forward to working closely with WEF a

We’ve extended our total Series A funding to $22.5M (NOK 228 million). We’ve also brought on Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL) as a strategic investor alongside backing from existing investors Burnt Island Ventures, Freebird Capital, Katapult Ocean, Nysnø Climate Investments, and new investors Ari Emanuel, Orion, Rypples and Wellers Impact's Water Unite Impact Fund. The CEO of Asset Buyout Partners (ABP), building on their long-term real estate and infrastructure partnership with Flocea

Flocean is named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025—the only desalination solution to make the list. The freshwater crisis is one of the defining challenges of this century. 500m below the sea in Norway, we’re turning proven subsea engineering into a new way to produce clean drinking water—efficiently, sustainably, and at scale. Thankful to our team, partners, customers, investors, and the Norwegian government for believing in this mission. The future of freshwater is su

“A critical, emerging threat to humanity.” That’s how a new global study describes the pace of freshwater loss. It’s no secret the planet is running short on water. Parched landscapes, empty reservoirs, and polluted rivers have already left over two billion people living in water-stressed regions—with global freshwater demand projected to exceed supply by 40% as soon as 2030. But those problems are only half the story. Beneath the surface, the real collapse is happening ou

In May 2025, a $204 million land-based desalination plant was approved in Hawaii. Its extraordinary cost and multi-year timeline underscore the limitations of conventional infrastructure—and the urgency of deploying faster, more energy-efficient alternatives. Let’s look at the public data published on the Hawaii project: 6.5 million liters of drinking water per day $149.6 million capital cost 4-year development timeline (2 years of permitting and planning, 2 years of constru

Since November 2024, Flocean’s subsea intake system has operated 500 meters below sea level, processing over 11 million liters of raw seawater into clean, drinkable water. Now, for the first time, that water has been third party verified as safe to drink— without post-treatment. Drawn from ancient deep-sea aquifers and processed using Flocean’s land-based desalination stack, the resulting water is naturally low in contaminants and perfectly mineral-balanced. Independent lab

This week, we finalized plans to launch the world’s first commercial subsea desalination plant at Mongstad, Norway’s largest offshore supply base and a key industrial hub on the country’s west coast. The project is located in the Fensfjorden area—one of the most important marine corridors in the region. With permits approved by the Norwegian Coastal Authorities, we’re moving full speed ahead. First water is scheduled for the first half of 2026. This is no longer a concept or

"Water is not just another resource—it is the silent currency underwriting every purchase, investment, or trade we make, from the farmer's market to the stock market." - Nature Water Photo credit to Getty Images While global powers focus on AI, trade wars, and cybersecurity, a more fundamental crisis is brewing: freshwater scarcity. Water is the foundation of agriculture, manufacturing, and energy production—industries that collectively account for about 60% of global GDP.

Conventional desalination capacity is set to double by 2032, addressing critical water shortages while risking a massive surge in carbon emissions. Current plants already generate over 400 million tons of CO2 annually—a figure that could double as tens of billion in new projects come online within the next 10 years. As freshwater demand outpaces supply, we need solutions that can scale without increasing emissions. Flocean's subsea desalination system delivers precisely thi

Flocean's subsea desalination technology minimizes biofouling and pre-treatment requirements, delivering superior drinking water at significantly lower costs. Traditional desalination methods have struggled to scale due to high operational costs from biofouling and expensive pre-treatment systems. As global freshwater demand increases, solving these challenges is essential for making desalination economically viable at scale. We launched Flocean Zero in November 2024—the wor

We’re proud to announce that Flocean has raised 100M NOK in Series A funding to develop sustainable desalination technology and provide freshwater access worldwide. The round was led by Burnt Island Ventures, Nysnø Climate Investments and Freebird Partners, with participation from Katapult Ocean, MP Pensjon, and former Bridgewater Associates executives investing through a Donor Advised Fund structure. With global freshwater demand projected to exceed supply by 40% in 2030, t

Updated: Jun 4 If you want to get inspired on the topic of water and energy: Meet the crew of FLOCEAN at the EUROMED conference in Sharm el Sheik next week. Wednesday, May 8th 03:40pm: Subsea RO and agri-voltaics (agri-PV), by Christian Abelsson (VP Technology) Thursday, May 9th 09:40am: Subsea RO and seawater cooling (SWAC), by Tor Anders Rusvik (Head of System Analysis) 01:30pm: Announcement of Miriam Balaban Innovation Award (the FLOCEAN team is nominated). The eve

Impressive profile on the solution and the positive impact, by Business Norway. This is Norway’s official marketing platform for green and sustainable solutions, emerging and established key industries, events, and foreign direct investment opportunities. Click here or on the picture to read the article