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Can we get drinking water directly from the air at home and in the office? Theoretically, it has always been possible, but now it’s being done for the first time on a fairly big scale in India. In the ongoing Men’s Hockey World Cup, stadiums in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela have stands where spectators can get a cup of water-from-air. The technology is not only saving precious groundwater but also cleaning up the air.
Enter these stadiums and you will find dispensers on every floor – and even in the media and VIP lounges – that provide free water. And each one clearly says: “creating water from air”. The dispensers are connected to huge steel tanks that collect the water that’s produced round the clock from air within the stadium premises.
The Israeli company Watergen that has set up the water generators entered India last year but has installed machines in over 90 countries, including the US, Australia, Japan, UAE and Vietnam. The company is a pioneer in atmospheric water generators (AWG) that turn humidity into fresh drinking water.
Last year, Watergen entered into an agreement with Hockey India to provide water to the thousands of Hockey World Cup (January 13-29) spectators at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium and Rourkela’s Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium.
“Water is an integral part of any sport and as millions of people follow sports, we at Hockey India have an opportunity to inspire the world to adopt sustainable practices,” said Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey, explaining why they appointed Watergen.
“We would like to extend our gratitude to Hockey India for taking this visionary step with us…. This Hockey World Cup will be the world’s first water sustainable World Cup across sports,” said Maayan Mulla, CEO, Watergen India.
To generate water, ambient air is first purified using two filters that remove pollutants, such as fine particulate matter (PM2. 5). The purified air then goes to a heat exchanger where its moisture is converted into water.
Watergen representatives at the Bhubaneswar stadium told TOI the water goes through four filters for purification and mineralisation. “You then get purified drinking water made freshly from air that’s safe from all kinds of impurities,” one of them said.
The total cost of installing all the electrical water generators at the two stadiums came to Rs 6 crore. If the machines are run on solar or wind energy, it becomes a zero-carbon process. This makes it a good option for water-stressed rural areas. At the stadiums, the final cost of grid electricity for producingwater will depend on the amount of water produced.
Watergen expects awareness about the technology and its practical demonstration will result in its adoption by corporates, civic agencies, village communities, etc, to address drinking water scarcity.
Another advantage of the process is that it does not waste water like the popular reverse osmosis (RO) process. Also, the generators release clean air back into the atmosphere, thereby improving the air quality of the micro-environment where they are installed. Watergen claims its process eliminates carbonintensive supply chains (water does not need to be transported) and environmentallyharmful plastic waste (no bottles needed). Watergen has installed devices of different capacities at both the stadiums. These include two GEN-L (large) machines that produce up to 6,000 litres of water daily, three GEN-M Pro (medium) machines that produce up to 900 liters of water and 30 GENNY (small) machines that can produce up to 30 litres daily. Together, they are estimated to generate over 2 lakh litres of water during the 16-day World Cup.
Asked about the utility of water generators in water-starved areas, especially villages, and their installation and operational costs, Mulla said, “We recommend using solar power in rural areas to minimise electricity cost. The land will have to be provided by the government or panchayat. We will train one or two local people to maintain, operate and troubleshoot minortechnical issues for each machine. Their cost will be borne by the government or panchayat. Corporates can use their CSR budgets to provide fresh, clean and safe drinking water. ”
He said Watergen is in advanced stages of talks with some leading corporates (both Indian and multinational), hotel chains and governments for installing water generators. “We have installed our AWGs at the campus of a leading e-commerce company and also at a leading liquor company, along with GENNY at some medical institutions. ”
Enter these stadiums and you will find dispensers on every floor – and even in the media and VIP lounges – that provide free water. And each one clearly says: “creating water from air”. The dispensers are connected to huge steel tanks that collect the water that’s produced round the clock from air within the stadium premises.
The Israeli company Watergen that has set up the water generators entered India last year but has installed machines in over 90 countries, including the US, Australia, Japan, UAE and Vietnam. The company is a pioneer in atmospheric water generators (AWG) that turn humidity into fresh drinking water.
Last year, Watergen entered into an agreement with Hockey India to provide water to the thousands of Hockey World Cup (January 13-29) spectators at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium and Rourkela’s Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium.
“Water is an integral part of any sport and as millions of people follow sports, we at Hockey India have an opportunity to inspire the world to adopt sustainable practices,” said Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey, explaining why they appointed Watergen.
“We would like to extend our gratitude to Hockey India for taking this visionary step with us…. This Hockey World Cup will be the world’s first water sustainable World Cup across sports,” said Maayan Mulla, CEO, Watergen India.
To generate water, ambient air is first purified using two filters that remove pollutants, such as fine particulate matter (PM2. 5). The purified air then goes to a heat exchanger where its moisture is converted into water.
Watergen representatives at the Bhubaneswar stadium told TOI the water goes through four filters for purification and mineralisation. “You then get purified drinking water made freshly from air that’s safe from all kinds of impurities,” one of them said.
The total cost of installing all the electrical water generators at the two stadiums came to Rs 6 crore. If the machines are run on solar or wind energy, it becomes a zero-carbon process. This makes it a good option for water-stressed rural areas. At the stadiums, the final cost of grid electricity for producingwater will depend on the amount of water produced.
Watergen expects awareness about the technology and its practical demonstration will result in its adoption by corporates, civic agencies, village communities, etc, to address drinking water scarcity.
Another advantage of the process is that it does not waste water like the popular reverse osmosis (RO) process. Also, the generators release clean air back into the atmosphere, thereby improving the air quality of the micro-environment where they are installed. Watergen claims its process eliminates carbonintensive supply chains (water does not need to be transported) and environmentallyharmful plastic waste (no bottles needed). Watergen has installed devices of different capacities at both the stadiums. These include two GEN-L (large) machines that produce up to 6,000 litres of water daily, three GEN-M Pro (medium) machines that produce up to 900 liters of water and 30 GENNY (small) machines that can produce up to 30 litres daily. Together, they are estimated to generate over 2 lakh litres of water during the 16-day World Cup.
Asked about the utility of water generators in water-starved areas, especially villages, and their installation and operational costs, Mulla said, “We recommend using solar power in rural areas to minimise electricity cost. The land will have to be provided by the government or panchayat. We will train one or two local people to maintain, operate and troubleshoot minortechnical issues for each machine. Their cost will be borne by the government or panchayat. Corporates can use their CSR budgets to provide fresh, clean and safe drinking water. ”
He said Watergen is in advanced stages of talks with some leading corporates (both Indian and multinational), hotel chains and governments for installing water generators. “We have installed our AWGs at the campus of a leading e-commerce company and also at a leading liquor company, along with GENNY at some medical institutions. ”
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