Flocean has announced that plans have been finalized 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, a significant marine corridor in the region.
With permits approved by the Norwegian Coastal Authorities, development is moving forward. Initial water production is scheduled for the first half of 2026.
“This is no longer a concept or a prototype. This is real infrastructure—underwater,” the project team stated.
The project follows the success of the Flocean Zero installation, which has been operating since November 2024 and has been delivering potable water from approximately 500 meters below the surface at Mongstad. According to the company, the system demonstrated that subsea desalination is not only technically viable but can also operate reliably at scale.
“Subsea desalination demands a fundamentally different engineering approach than traditional land-based desalination plants—integrating high-pressure fluid dynamics, advanced subsea robotics, marine-grade materials, and systems designed to operate autonomously for long durations in extreme environments,” the team noted.
Flocean attributes its capabilities to experience in offshore energy, subsea robotics, and modular marine systems—expertise commonly applied in the oil and gas sector but now redirected toward freshwater production.
By leveraging natural ocean pressure at depth, the systems avoid the need for surface infrastructure or energy-intensive pumps. The company reports several advantages, including:
- 40% lower energy consumption
- 95% reduction in land footprint
- No toxic brine discharge
- Resistance to weather-related disruptions such as storms, hurricanes, flooding, and algal blooms
- Enhanced physical protection
“Flocean’s philosophy is simple: use the ocean’s natural conditions as an advantage, not an obstacle. The result is a scalable, environmentally friendly path to global freshwater,” the team stated.
The commercial-scale project is supported by a coalition of partners, including Asset Buyout Partners, Alver Kommune, Siemens Energy, NLI AS, Reach Subsea, SAS Airaro, Burnt Island Ventures, Freebird Partners LP, Nysnø Climate Investments, Katapult Ocean, Innovation Norway, and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“This wouldn’t be possible without an incredible coalition of partners and supporters helping bring subsea desalination into the commercial era,” the company added.
