Under the terms of the agreement, Hydro-Québec is to study the process of pre-treatment of freshwater in an osmotic power plant, in an attempt to identify and validate the most cost-efficient pre-treatment technologies for use in an osmotic power plant, including membrane life expectancy, maintenance costs and impact on the environment.
The development of more efficient pre-treatment processes will contribute to making the technology competitive with other new renewable energy sources, the companies said in a statement.
Statkraft has been developing osmotic power for a decade and opened the world’s first prototype facility for osmotic power in 2009. Hydro-Québec has been continuing to research the operation, potential and applications of osmotic energy, as part of its active monitoring of new renewables.
Statkraft will provide research and development results in this field from the prototype facility that has been in operation since the fall of 2009, as well as testing pre-treatment as an integrated part of a complete osmotic power plant.
