A UAE-based mostly tech start off-up – Hydro Wind Energy – is on a mission to address drinking water scarcity difficulties globally and in particular in the Middle East by 2025.
Water scarcity was outlined as one particular of the largest worldwide risks in conditions of opportunity impression in excess of the up coming ten years by the Earth Economic Discussion board in 2019 and studies present that desire is anticipated to outstrip source by 40% in 2030.
Lee King, CEO of Hydro Wind Energy, instructed TechRadar Middle East that about fifty five% of the population life in the vicinity of the coastal places and drinking water shortage is a worldwide problem.
The start off-up, based mostly at Techstars Accelerators programme at Hub 71 in Abu Dhabi, has created a device recognized as Quench Sea to desalinate seawater to freshwater via reverse osmosis approach.
Hydro Wind Energy was picked as one particular of the one hundred leading startups in the MENA area by the Earth Economic Discussion board.
“It is the world’s only low-price, low-tech, hydraulic and hand-held seawater desalination device exclusively designed for humanitarian needs, sailors, offshore oil riggers and camp people. It can address a incredibly huge obstacle in humanitarian disaster or men and women who are dwelling in the vicinity of the coastline and really do not have obtain to cleanse drinking water,” he mentioned.
Moreover, he mentioned that obtain to cleanse and refreshing drinking drinking water, adhering to a catastrophe, is significant to health and survival but the current aid reaction steps typically depend on transporting massive quantities of bottled drinking water into the afflicted population or distributing drinking water purification products or tablets that really do not have the ability to get rid of the salt in the drinking water.
There is an urgent have to have for a device that can desalinate seawater into refreshing drinking drinking water, he mentioned, but no such product or service exists on the marketplace right now.
“We have to have bare minimum 3 litres for each day of drinking water for drinking and cooking and the device can generate two litres for each hour and fulfills WHO greatest contaminant stages,” he mentioned.
The by-product or service of desalination is recognized as brine and for each individual two litres of drinking water generated, one particular litre of drinking water is the squander via reverse osmosis.
Securing contracts with NGOs
It is incredibly electricity-intense to generate freshwater from seawater, King mentioned and that is why they have stored it handheld and standalone rather than a motorised selection.
Quench Sea device can generate about 20,000 litres for each yr and is priced at $thirty and weighs .7 kilos.
King mentioned that the RO membrane requires to be replaced after one particular yr, dependent on the use.
The substitution RO membrane expenses $three and the device is going to be created in China.
“We are finalising the product or service advancement and has to get the certification will be launching it on the American crowdfunding internet site – Indiegogo – originally in a month’s time. We are launching the internet site in two to 3 months. We have partnered up with NGOs, Red Crescent, Red Cross and Earth Vision Worldwide. People can also invest in and donate it to a humanitarian project” King mentioned.
King mentioned that they plan to market one hundred,000 products originally and have 100m stakeholders within six months.
“Our aim is to securing contracts with NGOs prior to generation,” he mentioned.
Began off with five co-founders, Hydro Wind Energy has raised $a hundred and twenty,000 from associates and $five hundred,000 via bootstrapping.
They are also establishing technology by using kites to generate freshwater from seawater at scale by using altitude wind and subsea stress.
“The device – SubSeaRO Wind – is one particular of the disruptive technologies to address the drinking water crisis. We are at present testing it in Fujairah. It is specific at utility companies. It can generate 10,000 cubic metres for each day. We will be testing it for 4 months and then will be created further,” King mentioned.
He mentioned that electricity is the largest solitary expense for desalination vegetation, accounting for in excess of 60% of the overall expenses of desalinating seawater into potable freshwater whilst the resolution to this obstacle is to use subsea stress at depths of 600m to desalinate seawater using a submerged stress vessel with hooked up reverse osmosis membranes and combined with wind power using kites to elevate the freshwater to the surface area.
He extra the technology makes use of the similar aerodynamic concepts as yacht sailing and can decrease drinking water desalination expenses by 90% when as opposed to all other technologies.
“What we are establishing is a novel zero carbon emissions technology with the least expensive capital price to deploy, the most effective and the most accelerated route to comprehensive commercialisation,” he mentioned.