CHE02 - Sea Fusion Energy & Water Hub

Coastal and island communities across the world face increasing challenges related to reliable energy access and freshwater availability. Most remote islands and coastal regions continue to depend heavily on diesel-based power generation and imported freshwater solutions, resulting in high operational costs, carbon emissions, logistical difficulties, and environmental concerns. At the same time, oceans offer vast untapped renewable energy resources such as solar, offshore wind, waves, tides, and ocean currents that can be sustainably utilized.The challenge is to develop an innovative, scalable, and cost-effective integrated ocean-based system that harnesses one or more marine renewable energy sources and combines them with desalination technologies for simultaneous production of clean energy and potable water. The proposed solution should ensure continuous, reliable, and environmentally sustainable operation suitable for coastal and island applications.

The system should focus on:

• Efficient harvesting and integration of marine renewable energy sources,
• Energy-efficient desalination for potable water production,
• Reduced dependence on fossil fuels,
• Low lifecycle and maintenance costs,
• Modular and scalable deployment,
• Climate resilience and environmental sustainability,
• Suitability for remote coastal and island communities.

The challenge aims to promote sustainable ocean engineering solutions that strengthen energy security, water security, and blue economy development while supporting national clean energy and self-reliance initiatives.

The team aims to develop an innovative and technically feasible concept for an integrated ocean-based renewable energy and desalination system for coastal and island applications. The expected outcomes include:
- Conceptual design of the integrated system architecture,
- Identification and integration of suitable marine renewable energy sources (solar, wind, wave, tidal, ocean current, etc.),
- Preliminary engineering calculations and sizing of major equipment/components,
- Development of system layouts, process flow diagrams, and 3D conceptual models,
- Estimation of energy generation and potable water production capacity,
- Basic techno-economic and sustainability assessment,
- Identification of suitable deployment scenarios for coastal/island communities,
- Preparation of presentation materials, technical notes, and implementation roadmap

The focus will be on delivering a practical, scalable, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable solution that can address the dual challenges of clean energy and freshwater availability in remote coastal and island regions.

Marine & Ocean Engineering, Renewable Energy Engineering, Desalination & Water Treatment, Mechanical & Electrical Engineering CAD & 3D Modelling, Data Analysis