行业洞察|1.794度电造1吨淡水!全球海水淡化进入“低能耗时代”

As populations grow and the demand for fresh, clean water increases, the gap between what we can supply and what will be needed continues to grow wider. It has been estimated that urban water demand alone will increase by 80 per cent by 2050. 

随着人口持续增长，对清洁淡水的需求不断上升，现有供给能力与未来需求之间的缺口正不断扩大。据估算，仅城市用水需求到2050年就将增长80%。

With demand also likely to rise from both agriculture and industry, water security in every part of the world will come under greater scrutiny. While desalination alone will not solve every water challenge, it forms the backbone of many countries' water strategies, especially in areas that receive little rainfall and where groundwater reserves are under pressure. 

与此同时，农业和工业用水需求同样可能上升，全球各地的水安全问题正面临更严格的审视。尽管海水淡化并非解决所有水资源挑战的万能方案，但在许多国家，尤其是在降雨稀少、地下水资源承压的地区，海水淡化已成为水资源战略的核心支柱。

Water is both a human need and an economic driver: from sanitation to drinking water, to data centres and industrial complexes. Desalination has played a big role in Spain’s resilience against long-term drought. According to IDRA, the European country has a daily capacity of 5 million m³, produced by 765 plants, including the continent’s largest in Torrevieja, which has plans to expand its production to 120 hm³/year. During the droughts of 2024, Barcelona increased its desalination by 33 per cent to keep the city running. Spain’s government has plans to double its installed capacity (including reuse) by 2027, with €23 billion of funding committed. Plans also include the greater use of renewable energy to offset energy costs. 

水既是人类生存的基本需求，也是重要的经济驱动力，从环境卫生、饮用水，到数据中心和工业园区，无不依赖稳定的水资源供应。海水淡化在提升西班牙应对长期干旱的韧性方面发挥了关键作用。根据IDRA数据，西班牙目前拥有765座海水淡化厂，日产能达500万立方米，其中包括欧洲规模最大的托雷维耶哈（Torrevieja）海水淡化厂，其规划年产能将扩展至120 hm³。在2024年干旱期间，巴塞罗那将海水淡化产量提高了33%，以维持城市正常运转。西班牙政府计划到2027年将已装机产能（包括再生水利用）翻一番，并已承诺投入230亿欧元资金，同时还计划通过更大规模引入可再生能源以抵消高昂的能源成本。

Europe is getting drier, and its aquifers are being depleted. As such, even areas that are traditionally seen as ‘wet’, such as Cornwall in southwest England, have explored the need for desalination capacity to help future-proof the area from the effects of changing weather patterns and drought.

欧洲正变得更加干旱，地下含水层不断被消耗。因此，即便是传统意义上被视为“多雨”的地区，例如英格兰西南部的康沃尔，也已开始探讨建设海水淡化的能力，以提升该地区在气候变化和干旱影响下的长期韧性。

Energy efficiency becomes increasingly important in the desalination world. As above, the Spanish government is determined to increase the percentage of renewables in the total energy used for desalination, which is a guzzler of electricity. 

在海水淡化领域，能源效率正变得愈发关键。正如前述，西班牙政府决心提高海水淡化能源结构中可再生能源的占比，以应对该行业高度依赖电力的问题。

The Guinness Book of World Records might not be the first place you would look for innovative energy-efficient desalination projects, but it contains an entry for the DESALRO 2.0 project based in the Canary Islands, which achieved the lowest energy consumption for a seawater desalination plant – 1.794 kWh/m3 – on 26 February 2025. 

《吉尼斯世界纪录》或许并非人们首先联想到的技术创新平台，但其中确实收录了一个极具代表性的高能效海水淡化项目——位于加那利群岛的DESALRO 2.0项目。该项目于2025年2月26日创下纪录，实现了全球海水淡化厂最低能耗水平，每立方米仅需1.794千瓦时。

And while members of the Canary Islands Institute of Technology (ITC - DESALRO 2.0) had to wait until the end of the year to receive their certificate, the plant continues to achieve energy consumption of less than 1.9 kWh/m. The plant operates from two containers under real-world conditions, and among the technological solutions, it uses pumps from Danfoss and both pumps and a pressure exchanger from Energy Recovery in its solution. This scalable solution offers low-cost desalination at energy consumption rates that are 20-25 per cent lower than conventional designs.

尽管加那利群岛技术研究院（ITC，DESALRO 2.0项目）团队直到年底才正式获得认证证书，该项目在实际运行中仍持续将能耗控制在每立方米1.9千瓦时以下。该装置在真实工况下运行，仅由两个集装箱构成，技术方案中采用了丹佛斯（Danfoss）的泵设备，以及Energy Recovery公司的泵与压力交换器。这一可扩展解决方案在能耗方面较传统设计降低了20%至25%，为低成本海水淡化提供了现实路径。

Energy efficiency is also high on the agenda in Oman; the Barka V Desalination Plant, which is operated by GS Inima, will integrate a solar photovoltaic facility to reduce its dependency on gas-fired electricity. Currently operating with a production capacity of 100,000 m³ per day, it is expected that the 6.3 MW solar PV facility, which is being built next to the plant, will supply approximately 11 per cent of its energy needs. 

能源效率同样是阿曼重点关注的方向。由GS Inima运营的巴尔卡五期海水淡化厂（Barka V）将整合太阳能光伏设施，以降低对燃气发电的依赖。该厂目前日产能为10万立方米，预计其毗邻建设的6.3兆瓦太阳能光伏电站可满足约11%的能源需求。

Credit图源: Technological Institute of the Canary Islands

If the last few years have proved anything, it is that building and operating desalination plants is a cross-border collaborative process. For example, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power has signed an energy and water cooperation deal with the African Development Bank; the multi-million dollar deal will cement a partnership that will oversee the development, investment and financing of power generation and water desalination projects across the African continent.

近年来的实践表明，海水淡化项目的建设与运营高度依赖跨国合作。例如，沙特阿拉伯的ACWA Power已与非洲开发银行签署能源与水务合作协议。这项数百万美元规模的协议将确立双方在非洲大陆范围内推动电力生产和海水淡化项目开发、投资及融资的合作关系。

Elsewhere, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a €6.3 million loan to Egypt-based Ridgewood for Water Desalination to finance the construction of new desalination plants along the country’s Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts. The finance will also support the upgrade of existing facilities. 

在其他地区，欧洲复兴开发银行（EBRD）向埃及Ridgewood海水淡化公司提供了630万欧元贷款，用于支持在红海和地中海沿岸新建海水淡化厂，并对现有设施进行升级。

Egypt faces an annual shortfall of around 7 billion m3, with the Nile River accounting for 97 per cent of its freshwater resources. The new small-scale desalination plants will help to improve the country’s water security. 

埃及目前每年面临约70亿立方米的水资源缺口，其中尼罗河贡献了其97%的淡水资源。新建的小型海水淡化厂将有助于提升国家整体水安全水平。

In Algeria, three new desalination plants, each with a capacity of 300,000 m3/day, are being constructed following the signing of an agreement overseen by energy utility SONATRACH. The three plants will form the first phase of a project that will see a further three being built in response to the growing demand for drinking water. The country has committed to increasing its desalinated seawater production to 5.6 million m3/day by 2030.

在阿尔及利亚，随着国家石油公司（SONATRACH）监督协议的签署，三座单体日产能30万立方米的海水淡化厂正在建设中。这些项目构成整体规划的第一阶段，后续还将新建三座，以应对不断增长的饮用水需求。此外，阿尔及利亚已承诺到2030年将海水淡化产能提升至每日560万立方米。