desalination

Attacks on desalination facilities in Bahrain, Iran, and Kuwait have demonstrated that the Gulf's water infrastructure — supplying up to 90 percent of drinking water for some nations — is an exploitable strategic weakness in the ongoing regional conflict.

Norwegian startup Flocean is set to begin commercial operations at its Mongstad subsea desalination facility in 2026, using natural deep-sea pressure to cut energy consumption by up to 50 percent compared to conventional land-based plants.

Norwegian startup Flocean is preparing to launch Flocean One, the world's first commercial subsea desalination plant, at Mongstad in Q2 2026, using deep-ocean pressure to cut energy use by up to 50 percent.