Extracting water from the atmosphere using renewable energy

An Indian company is working to develop a system that will use energy from solar, wind, and industrial waste to deliver moisture from the air

Spotted: In the face of climate change, current water infrastructure is becoming inadequate. There is an urgent and growing need for solutions that can provide greater resilience to systems that are under threat. Uravu Labs, An Indian startup, is working to build this resilience with a system for ‘renewable water’.

Uravu has developed a sustainable water technology that uses renewable energy to produce high-quality drinking water from atmospheric moisture. The system uses liquid desiccants to absorb moisture from the air. The moisture is then recovered to produce fresh drinking water, and the entire process is powered using solar, biomass ,or industrial waste heat.

The company claims that, unlike reverse osmosis, which can waste more water than is purified, not a drop of water is wasted in its process. In addition, the proposed system is small enough to be used in residential housing units and in commercial buildings such as schools, hospitals, and offices. It could also be a huge aid in rural, off-grid areas, giving residents access to safe and reliable drinking water without the need to spend hours in collection.

Uravu recently raised $2.3 million in a seed funding round led by JITO Angel Network. The funds will be used for scaling up and forging new partnerships, especially in the hospitality and beverage sector.

Springwise has recently spotted a number of innovations focused on access to water. These include a membrane that generates electricity while it cleans wastewater and a platform that helps farmers optimise water use.

Written By: Lisa Magloff