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"The goal is to help people," said Enrique Veiga, the
82-year-old engineer who invented the machine during a harsh
drought in southern Spain in the 1990s. "The goal is to get to
places like refugee camps that don't have drinking water."
The devices made by his company, Aquaer, are already delivering
clean, safe water to communities in Namibia and a Lebanese
refugee camp.
"In the villages we visited in Namibia, they were astonished,
they didn't understand, asking where the water came from," he
said.
The machines use electricity to cool air until it condenses into
water, harnessing the same effect that causes condensation in
air-conditioning units.
While other water generators based on similar technology require
high ambient humidity and low temperatures to function
effectively, Veiga's machines work in temperatures of up to 40
Celsius (104F) and can handle humidity of between 10% and 15%.
A small machine can produce 50-75 litres a day, and be easily
carried on a trolley, but bigger versions can produce up to
5,000 litres a day.
"Our idea is not only to make a device that is effective, but
also to make it useful for people who have to walk for miles to
fetch water or make wells," Veiga explained.
Switzerland-based Vietnamese refugee Nhat Vuong joined the cause
after meeting Veiga and visiting a refugee camp near Tripoli in
Lebanon in 2017.
He founded a non-profit organisation, Water Inception, which
brought a 500-litre a day machine to the camp.
"It's working beautifully, I'm really happy," said Nhat, who is
now raising funds to install solar panels to bring down
electricity costs and reduce the environmental impact of the
project.
(Writing by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Nathan Allen and Giles
Elgood)
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