A Disruptively Novel Approach to Clean and Safe Water Supply to Off-Grid Communities – SAFEWater-SDCW

Introduction

SolarDew has developed a disruptive, point of use water purification technology. It may look like a solar panel but instead of electricity, it produces high quality drinking water through a process of membrane distillation.

Technology Overview

The process follows the natural cycle of evaporation and condensation of water, removing salts, heavy metals, bacteria, and viruses in a single step. This unique non-porous membrane is:

• Low cost (>20x cheaper)
• Highly resistant to contamination compared to existing membranes

Manufacturing and Integration

The membrane is integrated into a water purification bag using manufacturing technologies from the packaging industry for high quality and low cost. It is integrated into a single unit and powered exclusively by solar thermal energy, making it robust and easy to use.

Economic Benefits

Compared to bottled water, customers can save up to 20-40 cents per litre.

Alignment with Global Goals

The technology is in line with UN SDG 6 and Green Deal Goals. It was financed by the Innowide Program and won the Seal of Excellence in the EIC Accelerator (Dec ‘20).