DARPA has awarded GE Research (the technology development arm for the General Electric Company) a four-year, $14.3 million contract to design and develop a portable air-to-water device. The highly compact, portable, 3-D printed device will produce clean, safe water out of thin air. The device could be a gamechanger for troops in the field and water scarcity worldwide.
The ground-breaking project, dubbed AIR2WATER (Additively Manufactured, Integrated Reservoir to Extract Water using Adsorbents and Thermally-Enhanced Recovery), is a part of the DARPA’s Atmospheric Water Extraction (AWE) program. The AWE program is focused on supporting the development of small, distributed systems for humanitarian missions and alleviating risks and costs associated with transporting water to troops on the battlefield.
The project involves GE researchers working with top scientists and engineers from several US universities to create scalable transformational sorbent materials that can quickly extract water from ambient air.
The AIR2WATER device will be light enough to be carried by four people. It will use the new sorbent materials to absorb the air, thermal processes, and 3D-enabled designs to produce enough water for 150 troops per day, even in arid environments like the desert. The device will use heat exchange to draw in heat over the sorbent materials, releasing the water.
David Moore, GE Research’s Main Investigator and Technology Manager for Material Physics & Chemistry, said:
Today, the logistics and costs involved with transporting water are staggering and in dangerous war zone areas, resulting in casualties. By creating a highly portable, compact device that efficiently extracts water from the atmosphere, we can save lives and ease the logistical and financial burden for our armed forces.
Earlier this year, scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) developed a ‘smart’ spongey aerogel that pulls drinkable water out of thin air without needing a power source.
