Known as WEDEW (Wood-to-Energy Deployed Water) this new system aims to provide water to certain communities by extracting 2,000 liters of water a day from the atmosphere. Designed by Skysource/Skywater Alliance, this new water solution recently won the $1.5 million in the Water Abundance XPrize, which launched in 2016.
WEDEW works by employing two existing systems to produce water at about 2¢ a liter. Housed inside a large shipping container, the first system used is a device called Skywater. This system mimics cloud formation as it takes in warm air, which hits cold air and forms droplets of condensation. This water is stored in a tank outside the container and can be connected to a bottle refill station or a tap.
The WEDEW system is already being used in some communities and the team behind it hopes to use the prize money to develop more systems and roll them out around the world.
Water-Generating Machines
The WEDEW System Mimics Cloud Formation to Make Water
Trend Themes
1. Atmospheric Water Generation - There is a growing trend towards developing technologies that can extract water from the atmosphere, which presents disruptive innovation opportunities for companies and organizations seeking to provide sustainable water solutions from the air.
2. Cloud-mimicking Systems - The use of cloud-mimicking systems like the Skywater device in WEDEW to generate water is a trend that presents disruptive innovation opportunities for businesses and governments seeking to invest in environmentally-friendly water generation solutions.
3. Water Abundance Prize - The Water Abundance XPrize has spurred a trend towards innovation in sustainable water solutions for communities around the world, presenting disruptive innovation opportunities for businesses and organizations pursuing innovative water-generating technologies.
Industry Implications
1. Environmental Sustainability - Developing atmospheric water generation technologies like WEDEW presents disruptive innovation opportunities for businesses interested in sustainable water production and environmental stewardship.
2. Community Water Solutions - The use of cloud-mimicking systems like Skywater and WEDEW presents disruptive innovation opportunities for organizations working to provide sustainable water solutions to communities in need, particularly in areas with limited access to clean water.
3. Shipping Container Technology - Housing systems to generate water inside shipping containers, as is done with WEDEW and Skywater, presents disruptive innovation opportunities for companies and organizations looking to develop container-based technologies for a range of applications, from disaster relief to affordable housing solutions.