ARENA announces trial of solar-powered water producing system

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is set to offer $420,000 in funding to Zero Mass Water in the US to trial 150 of its solar-powered SOURCE drinking water systems across various locations in Australia.

ARENA is providing the grant for the $821,500 project on behalf of the Australian government.

The systems are capable of producing clean, renewable, infrastructure-free drinking water drawn directly from the air with the help of solar power.

The infrastructure free SOURCE hydropanels require no external electricity or water for operation, and can produce up to five litres of clean drinking water on a typical day, depending on the climate.

SOURCE harnesses the power of the sun and the moisture in the air and produces pure water.

Each hydropanel produces water that is enough to displace more than 20,000 plastic water bottles over a period of 15 years.

ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said: “Zero Mass Water’s project will create a product that offers a new application and market opportunity for the solar industry in Australia.

“Using a combination of solar PV with solar thermal technology, SOURCE’s ability to create clean drinking water could be utilised to achieve positive solutions around water supply.”

The trial will see the launch of SOURCE in 150 sites across Australia including Sydney, Adelaide, Perth as well as regional towns and remote communities.

Reducing the dependence on plastic bottled water, the project will also provide accessible clean drinking water to rural communities.

The pilot phase of the project, which will trial the system in locations such as airports, cafes, community centres, commercial buildings and sustainable properties, will also incorporate a third party study to assess the environmental impacts of bottled water in the country.