Flocean Named Semifinalist in XPRIZE Water Scarcity Competition

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 operates at 500 meters depth and uses natural ocean pressure to produce freshwater. This cuts energy consumption by up to 50% compared to conventional plants while eliminating coastal land conflicts, chemical pre-treatment, and toxic brine discharge into sensitive shallow ecosystems.

Flocean One, our first commercial system, deploys in Norway in the coming weeks with the capacity to produce up to 1 million liters daily. The deployment demonstrates how subsea infrastructure can integrate into existing municipal water systems and operate reliably at commercial scale.

The Semifinalist selection recognizes technologies that advanced through a rigorous judging process during Qualified Teams testing, where their systems were evaluated for technical merit, feasibility, and operational performance. 

We're grateful to our partners—including Xylem, Burnt Island Ventures, and others—who continue to support our work advancing subsea desalination from concept to commercial reality. XPRIZE Semifinalist status accelerates that progress.

About XPRIZE

XPRIZE is the recognized global leader in designing and executing large-scale competitions to solve humanity's greatest challenges. For over 30 years, our unique model has democratized crowd-sourced innovation and scientifically scalable solutions that accelerate a more equitable and abundant future. Donate, learn more, and co-architect a world of abundance with us at xprize.org.