The technology comes in the form of an atmospheric water generator known as the GEN-350, which can produce up to 900 liters of water per day.
By Jonathan Benedek
Watergen, an Israel-based innovative company that creates clean water out of air, is now providing a source of freshwater for over 120 children living in an orphanage in Uzbekistan’s city of Bukhara.
The technology comes in the form of an atmospheric water generator known as the GEN-350, which can produce up to 900 liters of water per day.
A popular tourist destination but also associated with arid weather conditions, Bukhara has recently been experiencing serious water shortages. Earlier this month, water supply was disrupted for almost two days. The entire city was left without drinking water, including at several busy hotels.
Since the local underground water is unusable, fresh water is currently supplied to Bukhara from the city of Samarkand, almost 300 km away.
With a weight of just 800 kilograms, the GEN-350 is transportable and can be installed easily. Each unit contains an internal water treatment system and needs no infrastructure other than a source of electricity in order to operate.
The GEN-350 was installed at the orphanage as part of a test pilot, estimated to run for about two months, in order to demonstrate the generator’s unique capabilities to produce hundreds of liters of clean, safe-drinking water in Bukhara’s arid environment.
Attending the inauguration ceremony of the GEN-350 were senior political leaders in Uzbekistan including First Deputy Prime Minister Achilbay Ramatov; Otabek Murodov, Prosecutor General; Governor of the Bukhara region Uktam Barnoev; and Karim Kamolov, Mayor of Bukhara.
The pilot appears to have gotten off to a great start. Watergen’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Michael Rutman, who was present at the ceremony, said: “I’m very pleased with the results of the GEN-350. The children were very excited to drink the high-quality water from the GEN-350.”
Watergen’s president, Dr. Michael Mirilashvili, added: “Uzbekistan’s water utility company was thrilled with our water from air solution and requested to run pilots in several other regions of Uzbekistan. Although there is only 20% humidity in the air of Bukhara, the GEN-350 was still able to generate hundreds of liters of high-quality drinking water.”
Dr. Mirilashvili is also the visionary behind Watergen’s goal to provide clean, safe-drinking water to every human being across the globe. Watergen’s efforts to make fresh, pure water available around the world earned the company its place on the World Economic Forum’s list of the world’s top technology pioneers in 2018.