Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs)- Technology as the way forward to solve India’s drinking water crisis

Watergen is a pioneering Israeli company that has become the global leader in the atmospheric drinking water devices (AWG) market, machines that create drinking water from the air. As we read about water crisis on a daily basis, Watergen comes in as a saviour as it successfully allows pure, fresh drinking water to be produced from air using its cutting edge technology

As a solution, scientific management of water is being increasingly recognized as being vital to India’s growth and ecosystem sustainability. This paves in the way for increased demand of Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs)- which are devices that extract water from humid, ambient air, producing pure, potable water. Mr. Chaitanya Jaipuria, Director – Watergen India shares more insight on the same.

• What are Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs) all about?

Atmospheric Water Generators (AWG) is a new, innovative technology to help secure our future. These machines create fresh, clean and safe drinking water from air. AWG creates a new and untapped source of unlimited water i.e. air around us. The Machines are designed to generate drinking water anywhere and anytime with humidity levels starting as low as 20%.

• What is the role of AWGs to tackle the water crisis and how cutting-edge technology can help solve India’s water shortage problem?

About 600 million Indians suffer from a drinking water shortage, according to a NITI Aayog report. With rivers drying up and groundwater levels getting depleted, the problem is getting worse with each passing day. But if you see it another way, there’s abundant water is available but only in a hitherto untapped source.

The only solution that remains to address the crisis is innovative technology to create new resources that are freely available such as air to generate water, and that’s exactly what AWGs are able to do.

AWGs function efficiently even when humidity is as low as 20% Efficiency is the need of the hour, and innovations such as Watergen’s GENius technologies can greatly help in resolving the current water crisis in India.

• What is the future of water-from-air technology products in India

Since India is already grappling with an acute problem of drinking water scarcity, water-from-air technology products are sure to gain more traction in the near future. AWG technologies are not only sustainable, but also cost-efficient. If you take the example of Watergen, a single litre of water it produces costs 7-15 cents, depending on local electricity costs which is much lower than packaged drinking water bottles. A single investment of INR 2.5 lakhs in these products will reap long-term benefits, and therefore is a promising way forward in the water generator industry in India.

• Describe the features of Watergen products- their USPs and the benefits of the products

Watergen’s global patented technology was brought into India through a strategic joint venture with SMV Jaipuria Group–a multifaceted business conglomerate. At the heart of Watergen’s AWG product line lies the unique, patented GENius heat exchange technology. It uses the humidity in the air by first purifying the air, which then goes into the Patented Heat Exchanger made from Food Grade Polymer. The water thus created goes through 5 stages of purification and mineralization. The technology filters the air drawn from the atmosphere and filters it, removing dust, dirt, and pollutants up to PM2.5 therefore giving another benefit of air purification. Next, its GENius heat exchanger and cooling process condense the clean air into water. Watergen purifies the water and processes it through mineralization filters to boost water quality. It then undergoes a UV treatment, that destroys microorganisms and decomposes harmful chemicals. The result is absolutely fresh, clean, safe and mineralized water with pH between 6.5 and 7.5.

That’s not all. Purified water stored in the Tank flows again through the filters every 4 hours so you drink absolutely fresh, clean and safe water.

Some of its key USPs and benefits are as follows:

• Unique and Innovative: Creates water from humidity in the air, an unlimited completely free source of water
• Premium Mineralized Drinking Water Quality: Complies with all Food Grade standards and provides added minerals
• New Water Source: Creates a completely new drinking water source from the air around us- preserving the natural water sources, adding water to the world
• Scalable Structure: Patented GENius heat exchanger, can be configured to any size and supports a wide range of water production needs
• Energy Efficient & Cost-Effective: Watergen’s GENius technology allows to produce 5 liters of mineralized drinking water with 1 KWH in a wide range of climatic conditions starting from 20% humidity
• Eco-friendly/Sustainable: Products are environment friendly, reduces dependence on plastic water bottles, 5-gallon solution as well as eliminates the need for infrastructure, transporting water, commuting traffic, thus saving on logistics and storage costs.
• Global Industry Recognition and Certification: Watergen is the first AWG manufacturer to comply with American standards ASSE LEC 2004. All products comply with EPA, NSF, and the Federal Drinking Water Standards
• Compliance with UN Sustainable Development (SD) Goals: Watergen has very high compliance with 14 out of 17 UNSD Goals
• Watergen’s technology is working well all over the world, what is its scope in India? Comment on the future of AWGs in India.

With devices deployed in more than 90+ countries around the world, Watergen has been playing a critical role in meeting water requirements across these nations. In India as well, water crisis is a persistent issue affecting a large fragment of the country’s population. Most Indians still suffer from access to a reliable and constant supply of fresh and clean water for their daily needs. A recent study by Science.org has revealed that large swaths of northwestern and southern India will have “critically low groundwater availability” by 2025. Additionally, the country is further projected to face severe water stress by 2050. Watergen products are designed as per needs of the Indian market, as India plays an important role in the growth journey of Watergen. We are confident that this is going to play an important role in India’s sustainability journey and help the country move a step ahead towards empowering the people of India with access to the most essential necessity for survival i.e., water.