1) Sustainability problem: Lack of access to clean drinking water. Area: Water
- Billions of people around the world still lack access to clean drinking water around them.
- Many have to travel for tens of kilometers just to access this resource.
- Many of these areas are located in rural parts of the developing world which are also not connected to the grid (i.e, are un-electrified).
2) Technology
- Arizona start-up called Zero Mass Water, has invented a solar-based system called Source, that absorbs moisture from the air and converts it into drinking water. It does not have to be hooked up to an electric grid or an existing water system.
- It contains a solar panel that provides energy which drives air through a proprietary water-absorbing material and powers condensation of the extracted moisture into fluid.
- The systems also contains a small lithium-ion battery to operate the device when the sun is not shining.
Sources:
3) Stakeholders
- Populations in areas with lack of access to clean drinking water.
- Governments and municipalities.
- Non-profit and international organizations.
4) Deployment
- Marketing campaign to increase awareness of products to relevant stakeholders.
- Partner with local governments and NGOs to secure distribution and supply chain to remote parts of the world affected by this problem.
- Have enough manufacturing capacity to ensure demand is met.
UNI – jv2610