An Israeli startup called Watergen hopes to someday be able to solve the world’s water shortage problems. It will do so by taking the humidity out of the air and turning it into water.
Watergen made a real splash at the U.N. last month.
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You know that icky feeling you get on your skin when it is really humid out. Heat is not so bad, but when it is also humid it feels like you seat about ten times as much.
Well that feeling results from the sweat not evaporating off of your skin because of the high level of water vapor in the air. That is humidity and that is why it occurs near large bodies of water. And now Watergen has a use for it.
So think about the possibilities. Someday when you are in a really hot and humid place and out of water you will be able to kill two birds with one stone with Watergen’s tech. Just flip on the machine to take all that annoying humidity out of the surrounding air and then cool off with the drinking water that you just made.
But can Watergen really save the world? Well the company certainly believes that it can.
Maxim Pasik, Water-Gen’s chairman, told Business Insider, “We think it’s possible to bring drinking water to all countries. Humidifiers, army solutions, etcetera are a secondary issues. What’s important for us is to bring water to the people. This is a basic human right.”
As for its military applications, Israeli reserve colonel Kobi Marom once told Reuters, “I think that this technology will give the IDF and other military forces all over the world that operate against guerrillas a lot of advantages, because food and water that’s [a need that] those troops over the desert all over the Middle East, is critical for them to operate for a long time.”
According to Kohavi, for an expenditure of only two cents worth of electricity the device can create a liter of water. This makes it both practical and eco friendly. He hopes that organizations like the United nations will be able to use the device to help people around the world who need more drinking water.
Water Gen already markets its products to the militaries of seven different countries, including Israel, The United States, Korea and France. Fast Company Magazine ranked it 321 on its list of the world’s 50 most innovative companies alongside Google, Apple and Nike.
Its research and development was started as part of an initiative by Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu to deal with the problems of water shortages which has even helped the Palestinians.
