TERI and Maithri Aquatech sign MoU to generate water from air moisture
New Delhi, February 27, 2020: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Maithri Aquatech Pvt Ltd signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today to work towards facilitating the Government of India’s vision to provide universal access to drinking water through an innovative ‘Air to Water’ technology. The product, MEGHDOOT, is an Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) & Remineralizer that condenses air moisture, collects it, and produces safe drinking water. The alliance between TERI and Maithri will create the evidence for the better acceptability of ‘air to water’ technology in India.
Dr Syamal Kumar Sarkar, Distinguished Fellow, TERI, said, “We are joining hands with Maithri with an aim to assess the potential of their technology in meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of equitable access to water or the goal under Jal Jeevan Mission of the Government of India for providing piped water connection to every rural household by 2024.” If found feasible, TERI will work on raising wider awareness about the technology.
“This partnership provides an opportunity to connect with technological expertise and share Maithri’s experience to understand the generation of water from air,” Dr Sarkar added.
M Ramkrishna, Founder and Managing Director, Maithri Aquatech Pvt Ltd, said, “Maithri has developed the World’s first ‘Air to Water technology’ under Make in India initiative. Our solution, named MEGHDOOT, has been developed to reduce dependence on groundwater sources, by harvesting atmospheric moisture. The technology has been designed with an intricate filtration system that rids the collected moisture from all contaminants and odours. The technology can meet the water requirement of all companies, from MSMEs to large corporations, educational institutes, hospitals, airports, residences, etc.”
Key features of MEGHDOOT:
Produces 100% microbe free potable water
Requires minimum maintenance, and easy to set up and use
A decentralised and environmentally-friendly solution
The atmosphere contains 37.5 million billion gallons of water as moisture and less than 1% of it is required to meet our global water demand. According to Maithri, the technology has been deployed successfully in Indian Railways, Army, private organisations, hospitals, residences, among others.
On the benefits of MEGHDOOT, Dr Shresth Tayal, Senior Fellow, Water Resources at TERI, said the ‘Air to Water’ technology has the potential to make individual household semi-independent in terms of their water requirement. “It is supposed to function like electricity inverter/DG sets, through which users can generate water on their own. This technology can be effectively utilised for providing water to far-flung communities in mountains, deserts, islands etc.,” Tayal, said.
Under the MoU, TERI will conduct a study on the suitability and adaptability of the ‘Air to Water’ technology under different climatic conditions. Under the joint collaboration, TERI and Maithri Aquatech Pvt Ltd. will also approach the relevant stakeholders including the government ministries, departments, state governments and other related agencies, for effective dissemination of the results of collaborative study.
