The world’s resources are depleting. Basic air and water have become a rare commodity. As you would have studied in your science textbooks, less than 1% of the water present on the earth is available for the purpose of drinking. And that one percent is obtained from icebergs, rivers, lakes and other water sources. However with man-made phenomenons like global warming, climate change, the same ice bergs are melting. It seems like there is nothing we can do about the acute water scarcity problem.
Well, not us. However, in the small country of Israel there are a group of scientists who can prove otherwise. They seem to have come up with quite an ingenious solution to our acute water-shortage problem. And they call it GENNY.
GENNY, is a home appliance in Israel that produces water out of thin air. The system uses a unique heat-exchange technology. This technology enables them to produce upto 30 litres of water per day for a home appliances. Their larger models can produce even up to 5000 litres per day, easily meeting the requirements for the industrial demand.
Who Created GENNY?
GENNY was created by Rishon-Leizion based tech company Watergen which hopes to introduce this technology to save huge populations from the acute water scarcity situation in the world. It was first founded by Israeli entrepreneur and army combat officer Arye Kohravi.
Him and his team of engineers developed this piece of technology to help combat water scarcity experienced by military regiments. The plan originally was to extend the technology around the world to their different militaries. However, in 2016, the company was acquised by businessman and chairman Michael Mirilashvili. He then changed the company’s agenda from simply providing water for militaries to providing water to civilian populations during natural disasters.
Since then, the company has expanded it’s line of products to ones that cater not only to militaries. It has expanded to ones that can be facilitated in office buildings, educational institutions, military centres and private homes. The company has also expanded in itself, now catering to countries like the Americas, India, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and many more. Their head office and founding company is situated in Israel. Their affiliate is situated in the US, of the name, “Watergen USA”.
How does it Aim to Rid the World of Water Scarcity?
You may probably be wondering, this kind of technology seems so rare and unexplored before. Is it even feasible? For that, we have an explanation from the company itself. If you look further, on their Wikipedia page Watergen closely explains to us how it all goes down. They have a patented technology called GENius which implements the concept of an AWG to obtain it’s water. An AWG is an atmospheric water generator.
The system involved in this process is also quite simple and easy to understand. First they absorb air from the surrounding into the AWG. There is an air filter in between that removes out any dust or microscopic particles from the air. This clean air then goes through Watergen’s special patented system. It undergoes a special heat exchange and cooling process.
As the air, and its subsequent water cools down, it reaches its condensation point and the water forms. The system then obtains this water to send it through a purification system to get clear drinkable water.
The water then goes through two options: One, it accumalates in a large tank or reservoir where the system stores it. Two, it travels to a grid of pipelines which then transport this water directly to resident’s home water systems.
Why Is GENius so special?
While there are some other technologies, few and far in between, which also produce water in a way that is alternative and renewable, none of them have achieved the level of success Watergen does. Watergen consumes about 250 Wh for every litre of water it produces. That is about the capacity of electricity a bulb needs to run. And to top it all, this technology produces almost five times more water per kilowatt hour than any other system on the planet.
It also claims that the entire process is completely environmentally friendly and that it is a more renewable option for consuming hoardes of plastic containers to carry water i.e bottled water. It also reduces the load on the present water scarcity in nature and diverts it to make sure nature itself has time to recover.
Also read Conspiracy Theories: Top 4 interesting Conspiracy Theories of the World
Awards and Accolades.
Watergen has, since its beginning, received rave reviews and appreciations from all the world leaders. The technology as Israeli prime minister Netanyahu claims has brought water to almost 10 million people in Africa. News channels like Fox News have hailed the invention as one of the most magical innovations of the 21st century. Israel now recognizes Watergen as one of the country’s most influential innovations. Various organizations have also awarded Watergen with some of the most prestigious awards in the tech industry.
- 2009: Selected as one of Israel’s most influential inventions, by the Israeli government.
- 2014: One of the 50 Most Innovative Companies, The European Technology Innovation Leadership Award, by Frost & Sullivan.
- 2018: World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer.
- 2019: Best of Innovation Award and Honoree recipient for the GENNY home/office water generator.
- 2020: Consumer Technology Association’s Energy Efficiency Product of the Year; this was during the 2020 Smart Home Mark of Excellence Awards at the CES held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This is simply a small feather in the cap of Watergen’s excellent contribution to the country. Watergen time and again emphasises on how their agenda is to only supply clean drinking water to people who have no access to it. They have said, in true Israeli fashion that it is their belief that their work is to help people, the world and to sanctify their god.
The dedication and commitment towards serving our society the best they can show us that while there is a doomsday right around the corner, there is also hope. We hope that soon the world employs and rigorously depends on alternative, renewable sources of energy for its survival. There’s hope that technologies like these help us in our bid to save mother earth from all the damage we have caused her. You can read more on Watergen at their official website. And you can find more articles on the latest environment-friendly advancements and technology.