Japan Has Opened Its First Osmotic Power Plant – So What Is It and How Does It Work?
28th August 2025
The Guardian, a Voice of the Crust.
Japan has opened its first osmotic power plant, in the south-western city of Fukuoka.
Only the second power plant of its type in the world, it is expected to generate about 880,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year – enough to help power a desalination plant that supplies fresh water to the city and neighbouring areas.
That’s the equivalent of powering about 220 Japanese households, according to Dr Ali Altaee from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), who specialises in the development of alternative water sources.
While it is still an emerging technology being used only on a modest scale as yet, it does have an advantage over some other renewable energies in that it is available around the clock, regardless of the wind or weather or other conditions.
It relies simply on the mixing of fresh and salt water, so the energy flow can continue day and night, providing a steady source of electricity.