India  

A solar farm that pulls water from the air

Video Credit: Reuters Studio - Duration: 01:14s - Published
A solar farm that pulls water from the air

A solar farm that pulls water from the air

The CEO of Zero Mass Water, Cdy Friesen, says his company's tech is harnessing the power of the sun to produce large quantities of clean drinking water, using specialized solar panel technology.

The solar-powered devices they call "hydropanels" contain a material that absorbs water from the air around it.

The air inside the panels is heated and circulated, increasing the relative humidity.

Solar power is then used to retrieve water from the special materials in the panel.

Friesen said each individual panel can produce up to 300 standard 16-ounce bottles of water per month.

He added that the panels are able to function in arid, low humidity environments.

The company currently has four facilities they have dubbed "Source Fields" in action in the U.S, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates.

These are sites featuring large-scale arrays of their devices which they say can produce an ongoing supply of water for whole communities.

According to the World Resources Institute, a quarter of the world's people are close to facing dangerous water shortages with 17 countries facing "extremely high water stress," a situation worsened by more frequent shocks tied to climate change.

The company already has its Source panels in 36 countries and hopes to expand its manufacturing numbers from its current 10,000 panels a year to 100,000.




You Might Like