Water Unite Impact, managed by Wellers Impact, has invested in Flocean, a Norwegian subsea desalination company pioneering a transformative approach to producing sustainable freshwater.
The investment forms part of Flocean’s extended $22.5 million (NOK 235 million) Series A round, which brings together global leaders in water and climate innovation, including strategic investor Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL), and continued support from Burnt Island Ventures, Freebird Capital, Katapult Ocean, and Nysnø Climate Investments. The round enables Flocean to complete and deploy Flocean One, the world’s first demonstrator and commercial subsea desalination plant, scheduled to begin full-scale operations in 2026 at Mongstad, Norway.
Water Unite Impact identified Flocean as a key innovator in its mission to deliver SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, aligning with its strategy to back companies that expand water access through technology, circularity, and efficiency. By supporting Flocean’s subsea model, the investment vehicle is advancing the next generation of desalination infrastructure - one that can deliver clean water faster, with 50% reduction in energy consumption, 95% less coastal land use and no toxic brine discharge.
The investment builds on Water Unite Impact’s growing portfolio of pioneering water enterprises, including Pack2Zero, Seabex, Jibu, GREE, Mr Green Africa and Sanivation each addressing different dimensions of global water resilience - from reducing water pollution and enabling efficient irrigation, to expanding safe drinking water access in underserved regions. Together, these investments demonstrate how blended finance can catalyse commercially viable solutions with measurable social and environmental impact.
“We’re not making an incremental improvement — we’re changing the fundamental economics of water,” said Alexander Fuglesang, Founder & CEO of Flocean. “Water-intensive industries from semiconductors to data centres to mining are increasingly constrained by water scarcity. They need solutions that can deploy faster, cost less, and operate more sustainably. That’s exactly what subsea desalination delivers.”
“Flocean exemplifies exactly what Water Unite Impact seeks — breakthrough innovation serving massive unmet need,” said Usha Rao-Monari, Senior Partner at Wellers Impact. “Traditional desalination has been trapped in a painful trade-off between water access and environmental harm. Flocean eliminates that trade-off, all while delivering affordable water to communities facing extreme water stress. This breakthrough makes sustainable desalination economically viable for coastal communities that conventional technology could never reach, directly advancing our “Water+” mandate.”
By investing in Flocean, Water Unite Impact strengthens its global network of investees working to close the water security gap through scalable, market-based innovation. The fund continues to demonstrate how impact-driven capital can unlock commercial solutions to some of the world’s most pressing water challenges.
