Todd Woody of Bloomberg reports on the race to turn air into clean water.
- Startups like Atoco are developing innovative technologies based on materials called metallic organic frameworks (MOFs) to harvest water directly from the air, providing a potential solution to address global water shortages.
- Atoco’s prototype water harvester, powered only by ambient sunlight, can produce a few milliliters of water per day, and the company plans to scale this up to produce thousands of liters per day for communities.
- Other startups like AirJoule, a joint venture between GE and Montana Technologies, are also developing MOF-based atmospheric water harvesters, including integrated systems that can provide efficient air conditioning.
“MOFs are made from mostly common elements such as carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, copper and aluminum. But Taha says that some of the specialized molecules Atoco needs can be expensive due to their scarcity, and its scientists are working to synthesize them in-house in an effort to drive down costs. In an adjacent room, several barrels sit on the floor. Senior scientist Jacob Kanady opens the lid on one, which is filled with a white powder made from identical nanoscale crystalline structures. When a binder is added, the powder solidifies so it can be fashioned into fins for the lab water harvester.”
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