Imagine a solar panel that could pull moisture from the air and create clean drinking water, using only the power of the sun, for hundreds of millions of people worldwide who currently rely on unsafe or temporary water supplies.
Imagine no more, because the technology exists. It’s called Source, the brainchild of Arizona State University professor Cody Friesen. Even though it’s not perfect — Source “hydro panels” are expensive and don’t produce large volumes of water — the technology is drawing interest from around the world. Source is now being deployed on homes, schools, and hospitals in 20 countries, including the U.S., by the company Friesen founded Zero Mass Water. A hospital in Jamaica, seeking to end its reliance on expensive bottled water, is one of the latest to install Source. Made of a water-absorbing material, the hydro panels collect water vapor into a reservoir, add minerals for taste, then pipe the water to indoor taps. Purification isn’t necessary because only water molecules can pass through the material.
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| Source - Solar Panels producing clean drinking water |
Source is the type of innovation that Conservation International hopes to help scale up to address global water, agriculture and biodiversity concerns through its new partnership with a so-called “tech accelerator,” Elemental Excelerator, that helps early-stage businesses, such as Zero Mass Water, reach scale.
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