A new device designed by engineers at MIT could soon help billions of people worldwide access clean, safe drinking water by pulling it right out of thin air.
That might sound like science fiction, but it's exactly what researchers have developed using a window-sized, hydrogel-based panel inspired by the folds of origami. The prototype, tested in California's Death Valley — the driest place in North America — produces drinkable water even in very low humidity, all without relying on batteries, electricity, or even solar panels.
Water vapor exists all around us, even in dry desert air. Results published in Nature Water show that the MIT team's panel absorbs this vapor into a salt-infused hydrogel that expands like bubble wrap. When warmed by the sun, the vapor evaporates and condenses on a cooled glass surface, flowing into a collection tube. While similar models have required additional filtering because the salt can leak out during the process, this version added an extra ingredient, glycerol, which stabilizes the salt and prevents leakage — meaning you have clean, ready-to-drink water, no filtering required.
Even in Death Valley, the prototype captured as much as two-thirds of a cup of water per day. Multiple vertical panels could one day supply enough water for a household, opening the door for use in remote regions, refugee settlements, or disaster zones. "Passive sorbent-based atmospheric water harvesting offers a promising solution by converting ubiquitous atmospheric moisture into liquid water," researchers wrote in the report.
More than 4 billion people globally — over half the world's population — experience water scarcity at least one month a year. In the U.S. alone, 46 million people lack reliable access to clean drinking water. This device offers a low-cost, scalable solution that could reduce dependency on strained freshwater supplies, lower the cost of delivering clean water, and improve public health — especially in areas facing severe drought or infrastructure breakdowns.
It's also a win for the planet, supporting efforts to protect aquatic ecosystems, conserve resources for wildlife, and stabilize weather patterns linked to prolonged dry spells. The technology curbs water waste by eliminating the need for energy-intensive filtration or desalination, making it an affordable option for off-grid living or supplementing existing systems in arid climates.
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Plus, this is just an early prototype — it could be made even more efficient, according to the researchers. While there's no set timeline for scaled deployment, it's in motion. "This is just a proof-of-concept design, and there are a lot of things we can optimize," Liu says. "For instance, we could have a multipanel design. And we're working on a next generation of the material to further improve its intrinsic properties," said the study's lead author.
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