The Startups Producing Drinkable Water From Air
The Startups Producing Drinkable Water From Air B listering suns, endless dunes and almost no water. This is the imagined world on the planet Tatooine in Star Wars. Here, survival depends upon towering vaporators that loom over the sand, drawing in air and condensing its moisture into life-giving water. But this technology isn’t just limited to the world of science fiction. “That reality is here. We’re already making that happen,” says Brian Sheng, co-founder of Aquaria Technologies, whose mission is to transform atmospheric vapor into safe, drinkable water. There is no doubt that the world needs more water. On a planet that’s covered in approximately 70 percent water, only a sliver, around 2.5 percent, is fresh and safe for humans to drink, crops to grow and industrial use. And that tiny proportion is shrinking as the world becomes warmer and heat waves exacerbate drought conditions. This isn’t just a problem of the future. A World Health Organization study estimates that 1.4 million dea…
