Just a few weeks ago, in a journal called Nature Water, scientists with Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory broadcast to the world that they have found a way to quickly disinfect contaminated drinking water using only sunlight. It works by way of a low-cost, recyclable powder that, when exposed to sunlight, kills thousands of waterborne bacteria per second. Wow! Why do we bring it up? Well… because we plan to prattle on about the growing scarcity of clean drinking water.
In what we’re seeing in our research… we’re all in dire need of clean drinking water, whether we realize it or not. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, about 2 billion people globally lack access to clean drinking water. By 2030, that number will sit at 2.6 billion. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says about 46 million of those folks live right here in America… those numbers don’t make us comfortable at all, and we don’t like how fast they’re growing.
So, along with things like sunlight-activated water-cleaning-powder, we’ll need to find ways to make more water drinkable. A slice of that pie may end up being through what’s called sustainable wave desalination. We’ve been keeping tabs on this conversation for years, and it usually gets some opposition when mentioned, which can make sense. There are certainly hurdles to cross, like how energy intensive the process currently is, the byproducts, and costs of production. However… technology.
Sustainable wave desalination is pretty much just a bunch of big words that mean using the power of waves to make salty water drinkable, but doing it an earth-friendly way. I wish someone had told little adventurous kid me that you can’t drink ocean waves… as beautiful as they were, that was a painful lesson to learn. But now, a Norwegian company called Oneka Technologies wants to take the pain out of that fantasy by making waves drinkable through their advanced technology.
They made this device they’re calling the Oneka Snowflake, and it uses a series of wave energy converters to make electricity. Then, they turn around and use that power to desalinate the water. And we know it works because they tested it right in North Carolina. Now, they’re looking to scale up and bring the Oneka Snowflake to market. They’re thinking hard-hit places like the Middle East and North Africa really stand to benefit from their capabilities. We like it.
While wave desalination won’t save the world, it’s no different than any other accumulative effort toward a large goal… or, as our Marines say, you must eat the elephant one bite at a time. Along with other strategies, we can solve problems. This technology is renewable, because waves don’t run out. It’s clean, because waves don’t make emissions. Also… it’s abundant. With a quickly growing global population, it’s exactly what the world needs.
We have a few commercial companies here in America working on technology that can be used for wave desalination, including Wave Energy Technologies and Saltworks Technologies. Wave Energy Technologies develops and manufactures wave energy converters, which can be used to generate electricity to power desalination systems. Saltworks Technologies develops and manufactures desalination systems, which can be powered by things like electric, solar, or wind power.
Private players can be found in the likes of companies like Ocean Renewable Power Company out of Portland Maine. We love Portland! Founded in 2004, they’ve been on a mission to bring affordable, green wave energy systems to the world… and they’ve gotten the blessings of some big deal people, as well as funding. Some of which has come directly from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Navy.
According to the World Economic Forum, they are “technology pioneers”… that sounds pretty impressive. Their system is based on a buoy that bobs around with the waves to make power, and it can provide power for desalination plants. Their technology has been tested in Maine, Alaska, and Chile and they want to bring the world their commercial wave energy system as soon as possible. With the demand for clean water projected to grow 55% by 2050, they may be just in time.
Research driving the space is now focused on making sustainable desalination part of a larger overall strategy, so kicking over obstacles includes figuring out how to make converters more efficient and less expensive… that way, people can afford to use them at scale. Also, we have to produce less byproduct, because there is some. Then, we streamline storage and distribution… and we’re in business. Come back next week, we’ll have more from the green tech space.