Global challenge to extract water out of thin air

The Australian Government is partnering with non-profit organisation XPRIZE and India’s Tata Group to run the Water Abundance XPRIZE — an open challenge to use technology to improve affordable access to clean water in high-humidity areas where water is currently unavailable or inaccessible.

The competition challenges entrants to use energy-efficient technology to harvest water from the atmosphere, which is home to over 11 quadrillion litres of untapped water — enough to meet the needs of every person on the planet for a year. The creator of the most innovative and effective device will receive a grand prize worth $2 million, while five prizes worth $67,000 will be awarded to the other finalists.

The prize is open to scientists, engineers, academics, entrepreneurs and creative thinkers from Australia and around the world. Teams must produce a minimum of 2000 L of water per day, using 100% renewable energy, at a cost of no more than 2 c/L.

Teams have until 31 March 2017 to register, at which point they will be given seven months for initial solution development and 12 months to complete testing before judging by an expert panel. For further details and to register, visit www.water.xprize.org.