Rockwell Automation Powers Sweetch Energy’s Groundbreaking Osmotic Power Plant

Rockwell Automation is set to enhance Sweetch Energy’s revolutionary power generation technology with a sophisticated process control system and remote operations visualization. This collaboration aims to automate Sweetch Energy’s unique osmotic power plants, beginning with the first demonstrator plant at the Barcarin lock in Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, France.

Sweetch Energy plans to establish several osmotic stations at the Rhône’s mouth, harnessing natural osmotic energy to generate up to 500 MW of carbon-free electricity, sufficient to power over 1.5 million people—equivalent to the population of cities like Marseille, Barcelona, Amsterdam, or Montreal.

Eric Chalengeas, regional vice president of Rockwell Automation, commented, “Sweetch Energy shares our commitment to sustainability and technological advancement. We are thrilled to deploy our process solutions and visualization technology in this pioneering project. Our global presence and expertise will support Sweetch Energy’s technological scaling and regional expansion.”

Osmotic energy, produced by the salinity difference between freshwater and seawater, is harnessed using Sweetch Energy’s INOD (Ionic Nano Osmotic Diffusion) technology—the first of its kind to be industrially marketed. Environmentally friendly and weather-independent, this technology can produce clean electricity continuously without chemical waste or pollutants, and can be discreetly installed at estuaries or deltas.

Rockwell’s technology will automate, control, and monitor Sweetch Energy’s systems, optimizing efficiency and power generation. The scalable technology will enable Sweetch Energy to standardize and modularize installations globally.

Nicolas Heuzé, co-founder and CEO of Sweetch Energy, stated, “Our INODâ technology addresses the need for clean, competitively priced, 24/7 electricity. With Rockwell’s process control expertise and global reach, we are well-positioned to roll out our operations internationally, starting with the U.S. this summer.”

Original source ASM