Solar-powered desalination

“In that time, a cloud could literally come by and block the sun,” Winter says. So backup batteries were still needed.

The new system, however, updates the desalination rate three to five times per second. That means it doesn’t have to make up for any lag in solar energy, so it doesn’t require batteries for energy storage. 

In a six-month trial in New Mexico, a prototype produced up to 5,000 liters per day despite large swings in weather and available sunlight—typically while harnessing more than 94% of the electrical energy generated by its solar panels. The team hopes to launch a company based on the technology soon.