In the world, you have probably seen various types of innovations. Are you aware of the possibility of making water from the air? Bengaluru-based startup, Uravu Labs, is harvesting renewable water from inexhaustible atmospheric moisture.
Uravu Labs, established by Pradeep Garg, Swapnil Srivastava, Venkatesh R, and Govinda Balaji, all alumni of the National Institute of Technology Calicut, came into being in 2019. This innovative company specializes in utilizing renewable energy to create premium-grade drinking water directly from atmospheric moisture.
What was the inspiration behind Uravu Labs?
Indiscriminate over-exploitation of groundwater without giving sufficient time for natural replenishment is causing water tables to fall in cities worldwide. According to Swapnil Srivastava, one of the co-founders of Uravu Labs, he has personally witnessed the scarcity of water. In 2015, the river that supplied water to his college dried up, forcing college officials to rely on water tankers, with each student receiving only one bucket of water per day. This experience sparked the idea of collecting water from humidity in the air. Swapnil and his friends began researching this concept, and thus, Uravu Labs was born.
How is Water produced from Air?
The concept of water-to-air technology is not a recent development. Numerous saree companies have been exploring this idea, utilizing air conditioning techniques that rely on electricity, resulting in higher costs. According to Srivastava, “To make one liter of water, the conventional technique uses about four units of electricity. The cost of one unit of electricity is around eight to 10 rupees.”
Uravu employs an innovative desiccant-based technology that harnesses solar energy to extract water directly from the atmosphere. This cutting-edge system comprises two key components: the ‘absorber’ and the ‘desorber.’ The absorber efficiently captures moisture from the air, while the desorber subsequently converts this collected moisture into usable water. By leveraging solar power, Uravu’s technology offers a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to producing water, providing a vital resource for various applications.
The water content in the air is approximately six times more than the combined water in all the world’s rivers. The air’s water gets replenished every 8 to 10 days, while groundwater takes 1400 years to refill.
How much does Urabu Labs’ water cost?
Uravu Labs produces 100 liters of renewable water daily, costing about six rupees per liter, which is comparable to mineral water prices. Srivastava predicts that at an industrial scale of 2000-10,000 liters and above, the cost will decrease significantly to ₹2-2.5 per liter.
