Bottled water created by being extracted from the air using sunlight as a power source will soon be available at US stores.
The sustainable product is SKY WTR, which was created by Source and based out of Scottsdale, Arizona. This venture began approximately a decade ago when Arizona State University researchers created a company to extract water from the air without using electricity from the grid.
The technology used to achieve this is called a Hydropanel, which looks similar to a solar panel but produces clean water rather than electricity.
The process involves solar energy powering fans that draw moisture-laden air into a water-absorbing or hygroscopic material. Sunlight is used again then to release the moisture in a concentrated air stream.
The panel uses a smart controller to ensure that its dew point remains above the ambient temperature, resulting in passive condensation of water collected directly in the panel. Each panel can generate up to three liters of water per day.
The water is highly pure, so it needs to be added with minerals to adjust its pH for the human body, and it must be ozoneated to ensure sterility. Source hopes to scale up the technology to meet the needs of residential communities, schools, remote worksites, and hotels.
Thus far, the company has completed multiple installations in 56 countries, including governments and development banks, aiming to meet the drinking water needs of communities facing severe water scarcity.
To demonstrate how this would work on a larger scale, Source has installed Hydropanels at a site in Florida. The location generates 3,000 liters of water per day that the company is bottling and sending to US markets as SKY WTR.
The project aims to raise awareness about Hydropanel technology and demonstrate sustainable ways of sourcing water. The main hurdle is the price, with each Hydropanel costing $3,000, but Source believes it will be able to reduce the price in the near future.
