Panels that pull water out of thin air could address shortage issues Last week at CES, the startup Zero Mass Water introduced awater-as-a-servicemodel that could sustainably quench the thirst of communities where water is scarce or unsafe. Make it rain… or something like that In the US, some 2m people don’t have running water. Problems with access and potability are so pervasive that some investors have startedsnapping up water rights. In 2017, Zero Mass Water introduced its Source Hydropanels, which use solar power to extract water from captured vapor. Hydropanels require no electricity or public utility infrastructure, meaning they can be installed anywhere in the world for an off-grid, sustainable solution. Want a drink? There are two business models: Buying a Source Field-- large Hydropanel arrays that can produce millions of gallons annually -- gives the customer ownership of all water produced, whether it’s for a community or a business. In aWater Purchase Agreement, customers contract to buy a set amount of water each month from a Source Field. There’s also an option for people wanting to go the DIY route. Also at CES, Zero Mass Water introduced its new Source Rexi Hydropanel, a smaller version of the OG meant to mount onto roofs of homes, businesses, and schools. These retail for $2.5k. Zero Mass Water won the 2019 Lemelson-MIT Prize, and has raised $65m in two funding rounds since 2017.
Their claims are way, way, WAY overblown. It is a large dehumidifier. Their technology has existed forever. Their company's product been debunked a handful of time. Aside from the lack of general efficiency of solar panels one has to ask about the vulnerable populations they claim to be helping. In areas where water is limited the environment is typically arid. A desiccant dehumidifier would not work very well there...I'd imagine. On their website they claim 300-600 water bottles a month for a Rexi. I'd love to hear how they accomplish such an incredible feat in an environment with less than 10% average humidity. Here are two links going into detail why this is more hype than reality. https://www.eevblog.com/forum/crowd-funded-projects/zero-mass-water/ A similar project also debunked is the "Waterseer"
I was about to say the same. Zero mass is one of these unicorn companies that has tried to get a huge valuation on pure marketing hype. We won't be moisture farming like the Skywakers for a while yet.
Well, it would not have worked for the Skywalkers either, because the moisture condensers rely on the same principles of physics.... Oh, wait, they have light speed and light sabres. And The Force™. Hehe, nvm. P.S. Saw episode IX the other day, I think it ended the story arc as well as it could. Not a bad flick.
I remember receiving a prospectus for Wataire Industries back in 2005 with the same business model. Big Hype...now listed on pink sheets...going nowhere...WTAFF on OTCBB...It's a tough business pulling potable water out of thin air and selling it to third world countries.
Perhaps they used a molecular moisture sieve? Yes I saw it this weekend also, the first movie I ever saw in the cinema was Star wars IV in 1977. I felt a twinge of some melancholy but achievement when a fairly packed 42 odd years later the arc ends and I'm alive to see it. It was OK but I think they need the star wars Phantom Editor guy to clean it up a little. I was even in Tunisia at the original Skywalker homestead set but they had no blue milk.
Yep yep! I saw the first one in '77 at a drive-in, which of course is/was the hugest screen you could ever see something on. I was glad to see the last movie of the arc on a larger-than-normal screen, at an RPX theater. Missed watching only one of the 9 movies at the theatre, which was number VII, Force Awakens. But that's OK, because a friend and I binged Attack of the Clones five times at theaters, so I made up for it back then, lol!
Watching Star Wars with my dad is a treasured childhood memory for me. He was a big fan and I became one too.