Canned water distilled from the air will be available to buy in the US later this year, in an effort to promote solar-powered 鈥渉ydropanels鈥� that provide an off-grid method of producing drinking water.
The panels, created by Arizona-based firm Source, use solar energy to power fans, which draw water vapour from the air. A water-absorbing substance, known as a desiccant, traps the moisture, before solar energy from the panel releases the moisture into a collection area within the panel.
鈥淏asically, we are distilling the air, so you get pure, distilled water as a result,鈥� says at Source, speaking to 快猫短视频 at the Breakthrough Energy Summit in London.
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The distilled water is then sent to a pressurised tank, where the pH is tweaked and minerals like calcium and magnesium are added.
Each panel can produce up to 3 litres of drinking water water a day, about the average daily intake for one person. The process works effectively even in hot, arid conditions such as Arizona, says Friesen.
Source, which launched in 2014 as Zero Mass Water, already has hydropanels installed in 56 countries around the world. The panels can be installed as ground arrays, or on rooftops, linked into a building鈥檚 drinking water pipes.
Many sites serve off-grid communities without easy access to potable water, says Friesen. Most of the panels, which retail at almost $3000 apiece, are purchased by governments or development banks, although households can also install panels privately.
Source also operates a 鈥渨ater farm鈥� in Florida, where it can produce 3000 litres of water per day using its panel array. It plans to sell this water to the public under the brand Sky Wtr across the US in major retailers from August or September 2024, Friesen says. The water will be sold in recyclable aluminium cans and bottles.
Friesen, who is also a materials scientist at Arizona State University, says the launch of canned water is in part an effort to introduce potential customers to hydropanel water, in the hope they may purchase a panel of their own. Millions of people in the US alone do not have access to safe drinking water and rely instead on bottled drinking water, he points out. 鈥淭he intention is to show people a different way,鈥� he says.
Source aims to radically reduce the price of panels over the coming years, to make local water production more affordable. 鈥淭he sky is the limit in terms of performance, and cost performance 鈥� how this thing continues to become ever lower cost,鈥� says Friesen. 鈥淲e know for a fact that we have a cost performance curve which looks a lot like solar.鈥�
