Advancing Commercially Competitive Subsea Desalination

Tiabzu is an ocean technology company developing the systems, tools, and methods to make subsea desalination commercially competitive.. The Company integrates proven reverse osmosis systems with offshore oil & gas and subsea exploration technologies to produce freshwater using naturally occurring deep-ocean hydrostatic pressure.

Harnessing Deep-Ocean Pressure

Instead of pumping surface waters into the desalination system, Tiabzu modules operate immersed at ocean depths where surrounding seawater is naturally at the pressure required to force seawater through reverse osmosis filters into a purified water receiving tank. The differential between ambient deep-ocean pressure and atmospheric pressure maintained within the receiving tank drives the desalination process. This approach is designed to support a modular architecture that can be expanded to meet a broad range of freshwater production requirements.

Modular and Scalable

The Tiabzu System is modular. Each module is specified to produce up to 1,000,000 gallons of freshwater per day. Its modular architecture is designed to support a range of deployment strategies, from mobile freshwater production systems to larger infrastructure-supported subsea arrays. Capacity can be expanded incrementally through the deployment of additional modules, allowing systems to adapt to local geography, available infrastructure, and water demand requirements.

---

Tiabzu System is Globally Accessible

Tiabzu’s patented deployment and recovery methods are designed to reduce reliance on specialized offshore vessels and equipment by enabling launch and recovery using commonly available harbor infrastructure, shore-based cranes, launch ramps, and small tow vessels. Additional patented methods provide flexibility for mineralization at depth, enabling delivery of potable water or deep-ocean water with specified chemistry.

Mobile Operations

Submersible vessels deployed from a Purified Water Collection Vessel (ship or barge) are designed to provide freshwater to forward operating bases, islands, and coastal communities requiring seasonal, scheduled, intermittent, peak-demand, emergency, or humanitarian water supply support.

Infrastructure-Supported Operations

Multiple Tiabzu System modules may be installed subsea in clusters or arrays and connected to shore-based or offshore infrastructure, leveraging existing power sources, surface support, and pipeline corridors. Such configurations can be symbiotic with offshore oil and gas operations and support the transition of offshore infrastructure as reservoirs deplete and net-zero energy systems are developed.

---

What’s Next?

Accessibility is central to the Tiabzu approach. By reducing dependence on specialized offshore vessels and heavy-lift equipment, deployment and recovery can be performed using infrastructure available in many ports around the world. The result is a pathway toward broader geographic adoption, lower implementation costs, and greater operational flexibility.

The same patented approaches have potential applications beyond subsea desalination. Methods developed for deployment, recovery, buoyancy control, and lifting may contribute to the transition of offshore infrastructure, subsea recovery operations, decommissioning activities, and other ocean-based industries where safe and cost-effective operations at depth are critical considerations.

In regions such as California, remote island communities, and forward operating bases, where the absence of, or competition for, specialized offshore equipment can contribute to delays in infrastructure deployment, transition, and recovery operations, accessibility can be as important as the technology itself. Tiabzu’s approach is intended to help overcome barriers that have historically limited subsea implementation and to support broader ocean and offshore infrastructure applications.

Request Access to Technical Documentation →