Ticino company recovering clean water from the air

Unfortunately, there is a shortage of clean drinking water in many places across the world. However, Seas Société de l’Eau Aérienne Suisse SA, a company based in Lugano in the canton of Ticino, has developed a technology that allows clean water to be recovered from the air around us in vast quantities. This water can be used as drinking water as well as for technical applications including cleaning solar panels.

According to a report published in the newspaper “Handelszeitung”, the company, which was founded in 2013, is already turning over 5 million Swiss francs per annum. Among the first application examples is a system for the production of drinking water to supply a workers’ village near to Dubai. The system was also used for heating and cooling and, owing to the savings generated in comparison with conventional costs, the original investment was recouped in around two years.

According to the report, Seas systems are today used in southern Europe, Africa and the Caribbean, among other regions. At present, the US Army is also looking into the use of the systems with an eye on improving supplies to soldiers deployed on missions. In addition, a manufacturer of coffee machines is examining whether the systems could be installed in coffee machines, which could be used in places such as India, where the water quality is often not suitable for the production of coffee. “The aim is to produce a standardized machine, as cheaply as possible, but with European components, not Chinese”, states co-founder Graziano Giacomini in the report.

After all, it is precisely the high cost of the systems that is an obstacle to their use. Smaller systems that produce up to 1,000 liters cost 25,000 euros, while industrial-scale systems come in at a price of 100,000 euros.