The webinar discussed Blue Energy or Salinity Gradient Power, which is generated by using two sources of water flows with different salt concentrations (fresh water and salt water), passing it through the Reverse Electro Dialysis (“RED”) stack. 

REDstack B.V. has developed a Reverse Electro Dialysis (“RED”) stack, which consists of electrodes and membranes. In this stack, the fresh water from the river and salt water from the ocean is allowed to pass between the membranes. Due to the difference in the salinity level of both these water flows, the Na+ or the positive ions flow to the left side of the membranes and the Cl- or the negative ions flow to the right side of the membranes. On the extreme left and the right side, the stack has electrodes made up of Titanium and precious metal coating, which helps convert these positive and negative ions into the current, generating electricity. The potential of the Blue Energy project is assessed to be 1 TW globally. Out of this 1 TW, about 1,750 MW potential has been assessed for the Netherlands alone. However, such Blue Energy projects have proven to have better efficiency in locations with warmer climatic conditions. Therefore, the India and South East Asia regions are one of the most suitable locations for setting up Blue Energy Projects.  

In the Netherlands, the Hague Sewage Waste Water Plant, when considered as the fresh water source, is assessed. The estimated capacity for setting up the Blue Energy project is estimated to be about 3 megawatt, fully continuous. The presentation discussed the outcomes of the project, including energy generated, Blue Energy model calculations, impacts on marine life, project LCOE, and challenges encountered.