In December 2019, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported, citing the MIDES consortium, that it had opened its first demonstration site at Aqualia's Racons plant for brackish water in Denia. The process used microbial desalination cells, in which bacteria break down organic matter in wastewater and the resulting electricity helps remove salt. The aim was 150 litres of drinking water per hour at under 0.5 kWh/m³. The Horizon 2020 group of ten organisations from seven countries had worked on scale-up since 2016 and planned two more sites.
The report showed research in 2019 aiming to pair desalination with wastewater treatment to cut energy use. At 150 litres per hour, the scale was still that of a demonstration unit.