(Naples, 7 October 2025) The climate crisis demands urgent yet sustainable solutions to guarantee access to high-quality drinking water, especially in small islands and archipelagos. Fondazione UniVerde and Fondazione Marevivo, which for years have promoted public debate on the right to drinking water and the protection of the sea, yesterday, 6 October, together with SOS Terra, organized the official visit to the marine mobile desalination plant developed by Marnavi.
The official delegation included: Brig. Gen. Massimiliano Conti (Deputy Chief of Staff, Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security), Adm. Insp. (CP) Vincenzo Leone (Deputy Commander General of the Coast Guard), Adm. Insp. Pierpaolo Budri (Chief of Staff, Navy Logistics Command), Rear Admiral (CP) Gaetano Angora (Maritime Director of Campania and Commander of the Port of Naples), Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio (President, Fondazione UniVerde), Rosalba Giugni (President, Marevivo), Valerio Rossi Albertini (Atomic-molecular physicist at the National Research Council – CNR, Professor at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, and science communicator on national television), Carmen Di Penta (Director General, Marevivo), and Giuseppe Di Duca (Director, Fondazione UniVerde and Board Member, SOS Terra ETS). The delegation was accompanied by Marnavi representatives, who presented the various process stages used to produce safe, high-quality water with a low environmental impact.
Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio (President, Fondazione UniVerde):
“The marine mobile desalination unit offers the most sustainable and effective solution, especially for small islands and archipelagos, as it ensures a constant supply of high-quality drinking water, fully responding to the citizens’ right to access safe and remineralized water according to current regulations. In a national context marked by increasing water stress and supply difficulties, this Italian innovation emerges as an extremely flexible, scalable, and efficient response. Deploying desalination on ships is crucial to avoid oversized fixed plants built only for peak-season needs or pseudo-mobile plants misleadingly promoted as mobile. Land-based infrastructures not only have a significant landscape impact, but are also energy-intensive and harmful to coastal and marine ecosystems. Scientific research has repeatedly shown that concentrated brine discharges from fixed plants pose a serious threat to habitats and biodiversity, particularly in the protection of our pristine Marine Protected Areas. This is the true meaning of today’s initiative and the appeal we are making to Institutions for effective regulatory action to promote Italian-made technological innovation, already supported by European research projects.”
Rosalba Giugni (President, Marevivo):
“Given the importance of properly regulating this sector, it is regrettable that the SalvaMare Law still remains ineffective, pending the implementing decrees—including Article 12, which sets out strict criteria and environmental controls on desalination plants—proving that the legislator’s intent was to protect marine and coastal ecosystems. Without these decrees, the law risks losing all effectiveness. The Drought Decree further worsens the situation by allowing exemptions from mandatory environmental impact assessments (VIA) for desalination plants. Ship-based desalination overcomes these critical issues; promoting such systems, given their virtually negligible environmental impact, is an important initiative and a concrete solution in the very direction that Marevivo has long advocated.”
Brig. Gen. Massimiliano Conti (Deputy Chief of Staff, Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security):
“Water security is a national priority. Our work follows the path of the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan and PNRR – Mission 2, Component 4, to safeguard water resources, within the governance framework of the National Water Crisis Task Force. In this context, technological solutions must be integrated into the water cycle: energy efficiency, renewable energy, leakage reduction, water reuse, and transparent monitoring remain our guiding criteria.
The marine mobile desalination project—developed by Italian companies and implemented on a dedicated naval unit—proposes offshore production with the release of concentrated brine into deep waters, diluted during navigation, reducing soil and landscape impact while ensuring rapid deployment in emergencies. The ship-plant setup allows multiple islands to be served with economies of scale. The regulatory framework, defined under the supervision of the Italian Naval Register, has established a new class of vessel for the production and transport of drinking water. These are all consistent with our goals: maximum environmental compatibility, safe drinking water, and improved energy efficiency (with an expected increase of up to 30%).”
Adm. Insp. (CP) Vincenzo Leone (Deputy Commander General, Coast Guard):
“The concept of a marine mobile desalination plant is truly outstanding. As the Coast Guard, we will monitor the use of this innovative unit. We consider this operation highly valuable and, as we do every day, we will support both shipowners and coastal communities. We are well aware of the emissions and environmental impacts caused by traditional land-based desalination plants. This technology, by contrast, provides a brilliant solution: it collects clean offshore water, desalinates it, and releases the brine back into the open sea, thereby avoiding concentration and coastal impact.”
Adm. Insp. Pierpaolo Budri (Chief of Staff, Navy Logistics Command):
“The water supply of small islands has always been one of the Defense’s institutional tasks. The Navy has for years ensured water transport with its dedicated vessels, providing an essential service to local communities. Today, faced with new challenges posed by the climate crisis, it is crucial to integrate this mission with innovative technological solutions that combine efficiency and environmental sustainability. The Armed Forces are pursuing this goal through the use of low-impact vessels and the progressive energy upgrading of shore infrastructures, including photovoltaic systems and high-efficiency technologies. In close cooperation with institutions, research bodies, and industrial partners, the Defense remains committed to developing environmentally friendly solutions that support island and coastal communities while safeguarding the sea and promoting the nation’s sustainable progress.”
Valerio Rossi Albertini (Senior Researcher, CNR, and Science Communicator):
“The marine mobile desalination unit is an essential resource, especially in times of climate change. We have already endured long drought periods, and we know that small islands and archipelagos require easy access to high-quality drinking water. The critical problem of land-based desalination is brine: the highly concentrated salt residue, which coastal biodiversity cannot withstand. The desalination vessel provides an intelligent solution to overcome this obstacle, for two main reasons. First, progressive desalination allows gradual and controlled extraction of seawater, reducing overall impact. Second, dispersing brine offshore along the navigation route keeps salinity levels only slightly above natural seawater, effectively neutralizing environmental impacts and safeguarding marine species.”
Traditional fixed desalination systems, with high energy consumption and strong coastal ecosystem impacts, are increasingly outdated in Marine Protected Areas, small islands, and archipelagos. Choosing ship-based desalination not only safeguards habitats and marine biodiversity, but also offers a flexible, pragmatic, and forward-looking solution for water security plans, particularly during the tourist season.
The Italian marine mobile desalination technology, designed and built by Marnavi, provides the fastest, safest, and most cost-effective response to these challenges. Among its many advantages:
- Reduced environmental impact: Unlike land-based plants, which consume soil and discharge concentrated brine near the coast—often incredibly close to the very intake point for drinking water—the mobile desalination unit operates offshore, drawing water from deep, cleaner layers and dispersing brine gradually during navigation, using propeller thrust to prevent concentration at a single discharge point, thereby significantly reducing coastal pollution.
- Economic and operational efficiency: This technology drastically reduces construction costs and times, as well as maintenance and operating expenses, compared to land-based plants that require massive amounts of energy. Moreover, the marine mobile desalination unit offers unparalleled operational flexibility. Its highest value is in archipelagos: instead of building as many plants as there are inhabited islands, one single mobile desalination vessel—sized to population needs, including seasonal emergencies—can serve them all.
- Water quality and safety: The water produced is of high quality, remineralized according to regulations, and constantly monitored by specialized personnel on board. The vessel is also equipped with systems that can instantly shut down production in case of anomalies. Additionally, a research agreement with the Italian National Institute of Health guarantees the maximum safety of the water produced for human consumption.
This innovative Italian-made system, already in operation, is a tangible example of how Italian technological innovation can combine efficiency, sustainability, and protection of coastal and marine environments, while ensuring safe and low-impact solutions for island communities. Its scientific and technological value was officially recognized in 2017 by the Ministry of Economic Development and the CNR. In particular, the CNR’s evaluation report for the Horizon 2020 – PON 2014/2020 program stated that “the project’s quality is high, both technically and in terms of innovation and expected results,” and that “mobile desalination would help reduce some of the typical impacts of land-based or offshore-platform plants.” That assessment enabled the Ministry of Economic Development to approve the project—developed in cooperation with another leading industry partner—for EU research and innovation funding.
Press Office – Fondazione UniVerde