Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have built a new device that can pump clean drinking water directly from the air, without the need for electricity.
It is designed for areas where water is scarce and traditional sources such as rivers or lakes are unreliable. Currently, more than 2,2 billion people worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water.
This new device, called the Atmospheric Water Harvesting Window (AWHW), uses a unique hydrogel panel that looks like black bubble wrap. These bubbles absorb water vapor from the air, especially at night when humidity is higher. During the day, sunlight causes the vapor inside to evaporate. This vapor then condenses on a glass surface and drips down through a tube, turning it into drinkable water.
The AWHW doesn't use any power sources (batteries or solar panels). It's completely passive, meaning it runs on its own. The team tested a panel in Death Valley, California, one of the driest places in North America, and was able to extract between 57,0 and 161,5 milliliters of water per day, even with humidity levels as low as 21%. That's more than any other similar passive device has managed.
Another interesting thing about the design is how they keep the water safe to drink. Typically, the hydrogel uses salts like lithium chloride to absorb more vapor, but this can lead to salt leaching into the water, which is not ideal.
To solve this problem, the MIT team mixed in glycerol, a compound that helps keep the salt locked inside the gel. During testing, the concentration of lithium ions in the collected water remained below 0,06 ppm (parts per million), which is well below the safe limit.
The hydrogel domes also give the material more surface area, allowing it to collect more vapor. The outer glass panel is coated with a special polymer film that helps cool the glass, making it easier for vapor to condense.
The AWHW could last at least a year. Researchers believe that an array of vertical panels could one day provide water to individual households, especially in remote or off-grid locations.
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-025-00447-2
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
