[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/9973\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n        \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n  \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E Fresh-water scarcity prompts hunt for more from the air and sea   \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nCarlos Garcia foresees a world in which many millions of homes will get water out of thin air \u2013 literally.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EGarcia is general manager of GENAQ, a Spanish company that makes devices known as atmospheric water generators. By condensing humidity in the air into usable water, such generators can help create much-needed supplies.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESupply crunch\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWater, the source of life, is becoming increasingly scarce as the world\u2019s population grows and climate change intensifies.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This is a problem we really need to tackle,\u2019 said Garcia, whose company led the Horizon-funded \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/879961\u0022\u003ESTRATUS\u003C\/a\u003E project to expand the market for atmospheric water generators.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.unwater.org\/water-facts\/water-scarcity\u0022\u003EUnited Nations\u003C\/a\u003E, 2.3 billion people - more than one in four - live in a \u2018water-stressed\u2019 country, which is defined as one that removes at least 25% of its fresh water every year to meet demand. And 4 billion people face severe water scarcity for at least one month a year.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Europe, where global warming is already causing more frequent and severe droughts, scientists and businesses are developing new methods to generate fresh water from the air as well as the sea. The push is also driven by pollutants in underground water and the environmental cost of bottled water.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile GENAQ has been developing atmospheric water generators since 2008 and has customers in 60 countries, so far it has served mainly emergency services and industrial users.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHome use\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThrough STRATUS, the company developed a version designed for people at home. These new generators can be attached to houses and create fresh water for their inhabitants.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003EThe device takes air and filters it, ensuring there are no contaminants, and produces high-quality drinking water.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003ECarlos Garcia, STRATUS\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EGENAQ wants to sell three versions of the product, ranging in amount from 20 litres a day to 200 litres and in size from a small kitchen appliance to a version that looks like an office water cooler. Anticipated prices range from \u20ac2 500 for the smallest version to \u20ac14 500 for the biggest.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The device takes air and filters it, ensuring there are no contaminants going into the condensation chamber,\u2019 said Garcia.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFirst air is cooled to a point where water condenses. Then the water is filtered, minerals are added and it gets zapped with ultraviolet light to prevent bacteria forming.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EGENAQ found a way to cut drastically the amount of energy used in the process \u2013 150% less \u2013 and the average cost of portable water fell by more than 80%.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We have dedicated most of our efforts to efficiency,\u2019 said Garcia.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBut atmospheric water generators depend on something beyond GENAQ\u2019s control: weather.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The best performance is in hot and humid climates,\u2019 said Garcia. \u2018Cold and dry environments don\u0027t perform very well, but indoor conditions of houses are well suited for this solution.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EGENAQ is now aiming to supply everyday families with atmospheric water generators.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the coming months, it plans to expand in European countries such as Spain, France and Germany where bottled-water consumption is high. A subsequent step is to break into the worldwide consumer market.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESea source\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Belgium, a company called HydroVolta is improving ways to take salty or brackish water and convert it into fresh water under the Horizon-funded \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/969116\u0022\u003ESonixED\u003C\/a\u003E project.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe vast majority of the earth\u0027s water is saltwater. Only 3% is fresh water and less than one third of that is accessible, the rest being locked away in glaciers and groundwater.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003EWe will need to treat saline water so people can drink it and industry can use it.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003EGeorge Brik, SonixED\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We will need to treat saline water so people can drink it and industry can use it,\u2019 said George Brik, chief executive officer of HydroVolta. \u2018But with the current technologies, desalination requires high investments and high operational costs. On top of that, existing technology uses high amounts of energy and chemicals.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough desalination has taken place for years and usually features in countries with dry climates, increases in water scarcity are fuelling interest in the activity in other parts of the world including northern Europe. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe basic technique to turn saltwater into fresh water is electrodialysis, where ions are transported through membranes to separate the salt from the water.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBut the method has a weak point: the membrane, which gets dirty easily and requires chemicals and high pressure to clean. That in turn involves large amounts of energy.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EUnder SonixED, HydroVolta developed ultrasound technology that keeps the membrane clean in a much more efficient way.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELess pressure, more water\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EEnergy use in this field depends on pressure, which is measured in a metric unit known as bar. Existing technologies to desalinate seawater take around 50 to 80 bar, according to Brik, who said the new HydroVolta technology uses just one to three bar.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EEven better is that a greater amount of fresh water can now be generated, he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Existing technologies waste around 60 to 65% of the seawater that\u0027s taken in,\u2019 said Brik. \u2018Our new technology inverts that percentage. If we take in 100 litres of seawater, we can produce 65 litres of drinkable water.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHydroVolta wants to supply this technology to larger companies to generate drinkable water as well as to industrial players that need water to fuel their operations. The company is carrying out tests with several Belgian businesses to generate drinkable water from the North Sea.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, Brik says new desalination technologies may need a push from governments to spur broader demand.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018They can be the first customers,\u2019 he said. \u2018This will help companies show the world what they have and scale up.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU. 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