Solar-powered purification system provides safe drinking water

A portable, solar-powered purification system that could provide people in the developing world with access to clean drinking water is under development in the UK.

Around 20 per cent of the world’s population, 1.2 billion people, live under constant threat of not having enough drinking water to survive, according to the United Nations.

The Desolenator device, which is being developed by a UK-based company of the same name, purifies and desalinates all forms of water, including seawater.

The system recently won two prizes at the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Innovation Awards, winning the sustainability and start-up categories.

The device, which is the size of a large flat-screen television, is equipped with all-terrain wheels for moving around in rugged areas, and can produce around 15 litres of drinking water per day. That is enough for both drinking and cooking, according to Desolenator’s CEO William Janssen.