Impact focus area
Water systems
Water-Energy-Food nexus
Overview
Water quality depends on water’s thermodynamic, physicochemical, hydraulic, and biological properties; when these are properly managed, water-related applications can move from chemical-based treatment to safer non-chemical solutions for both people and the ecosystems receiving the water.
Flagship project
DrinkAble
Chlorine-free safe drinking water
Unsafe water still spreads disease, and many disinfection systems rely on chlorine and other chemicals that can leave harmful by-products. WHO states that at least 1.7 billion people use a drinking-water source contaminated with faeces, and microbiologically contaminated drinking water can transmit diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio. A safer, chemical-free way to disinfect water is needed, especially for aged pipe systems, or decentralized use.
- Drinking water treatment
- Decentralized and rural water systems
- Hospitals and emergency water supply
- Industrial and food-sector wastewater hotspots
- Water reuse
- Broad-spectrum ultrasonic harmonics
- Frequency sweeping
- Acoustic cavitation
- Advanced oxidation processes
- Hydroxyl radical generation
- Chemical-free disinfection
- Residue-free treatment
- Pilot-scale validation
- Low-consumable operation
- Scalable water treatment
- Supports safer drinking water without chlorine handling
- Improves feasibility for remote and decentralized use
- Reduces operator dependence on chemical supply chains
- Can strengthen public-health protection in high-risk water settings
- Avoids chlorine-based disinfection residues and related by-products
- Reduces chemical transport and storage needs
- Enables lower-chemical treatment pathways for water reuse and discharge
- Supports more resource-efficient water treatment systems
Water-Energy-Food nexus
Projects in development
Controlled management of water properties has measurable effects across the water-energy-food nexus
- AquacultureImproved nutrient availability and transport through conditioned water, supporting lower fertilizer demand.
- AgricultureImproved soil softness, moisture regulation, and gas exchange through conditioned water with lower surface tension.
- EnergyNon-chemical water conditioning providing anti-corrosion and anti-scaling properties for cooling systems
