Ukraine Solar-powered water desalination secures drinking water supply in Ukraine

Russian attacks have damaged or destroyed electricity and water supply infrastructures in scores of Ukrainian towns, cities and municipalities. When a dam on the river Dnipro was blown up, for example, the region’s main source of drinking water was affected. In such cases, people have no choice but to use water from the sea, streams, rivers or lakes for drinking and other purposes. Now that drinking water treatment plants have been provided, salty groundwater and river water can be used as an additional source, thus alleviating the water shortage.

However, in Ukraine, it is often impossible to operate conventional water treatment and desalination plants reliably, because the power supply in many places is interrupted frequently.

For Boreal Light, there are significant business opportunities to be harnessed by supporting Ukraine. The company’s solutions are designed to work effectively even in crisis situations, since they are independent of the power grid, easy to maintain and inexpensive to operate. This makes them a valuable solution for many Ukrainian cities whose water supply has been damaged or destroyed and allows them to provide residents with a vital source of water for drinking and other purposes.

With public funding of around EUR 3.2 million, the project supported the following activities in one southern Ukrainian city:

• Production of five solar-powered water desalination plants at the company’s Berlin site and delivery to Ukraine
• Installation of ten UV disinfection systems
• Training and employment of skilled local workers to operate the plant
• Installation of a system to remotely monitor water quality and generate data for online reference.

The system can be operated using solar power or on a hybrid basis together with power from the grid. This makes it possible to continue operating regardless of the weather and to respond to peaks in demand at short notice. To make the system more robust, it consists of five separate units.

Boreal Light drew on its experience of manufacturing, installing and operating solar-powered, off-grid water desalination plants in more than 20 countries in the Global South. DEG Impulse cofinanced the plant through BMZ’s develoPPP programme. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH organised delivery of the systems from Berlin to Ukraine and provided support through its local network.

The supply of drinking water to the population of this coastal city has improved significantly. In the context of the damage caused by Russia’s war of aggression, the project has also equipped the country with pioneering technology to secure an off-grid, decentralised drinking water supply in acute situations and in the future – and has created new skilled jobs.

• The solar-powered water desalination plants supply up to 125,000 litres of clean drinking water per hour for around 460,000 people.
• The desalination systems can be operated without placing any additional pressure on the country’s fragile power grid.
• Thanks to the use of solar energy, the water treatment process is climate-friendly and inexpensive to operate.