The UN predicts that by 2030, the global population without access to clean water will have risen to 50%. Thanks to innovations like Climate Action Challenge winner Desolenator, new solar technologies are working to tackle this global water crisis, head-on. This week, their crucial work was awarded a finalist prize at the Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge. We caught up with Desolenator’s Buisness Development Manager, Louise Bleach, about why this win is such a big step forward for clean drinking water across the globe.
In 2017, UK/Netherlands based startup Desolenator was one of the 13 winning entries to our global Climate Action Challenge. Their patented water solution combats the effects of climate change, using 100% solar energy to harvest clean drinking water, in areas that need it most.
Unfortunately, a solar panel is only able to convert 15% of the sun’s energy to electricity, with most of the energy lost in the form of heat. Desolenator uses this wasted energy to heat hot water, in order to desalinate and clean even the most complex water contaminators to be used again as drinking water. They use no filters, no membranes and no pre-treatment chemicals, and after years of intensive research and development, the project has reached the live stage and is ready to be tested across the globe, with units ranging from 10,000 litres per day to upwards of 250,000 litres per day!
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A green thumbs-up
On October 3rd, Desolenator took home the finalist prize at the Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge. In addition to €100,000 funding, the team will receive six months of support and coaching by Rockstart as part of their Deepdive programme.
We caught up with Louise Bleach to hear what she had to say about the team’s success:
Firstly, congratulations on winning the finalist prize in the Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge 2019! How does it feel for Desolenator to win another international grant?
Louise: We are deeply honoured to be a finalist amongst such an impressive cohort. International platforms such as the Postcode Lottery provide fantastic opportunity to not only highlight Desolenator’s work but most importantly put this into the context of the wider issue of our global water crisis.
Since we last spoke, Desolenator had taken big leaps since the WDCD Climate Action Challenge accelerator programme. What do you think has been the most significant step forward?
The most significant step forward has been the design and build of our larger community model. This has been the culmination of four years of diligent research and development, and starting at 25,000L a day – we are excited to start monitoring our impact.
As the project moves into two live pilots, Dubai and West Bengal, it must be incredibly exciting to see 5 years of research and development put into practice. Do you have any concerns about its implementation? Have you had any feedback from the community in these areas?
Desolenator delivers water in the toughest of environments and this comes with its own set of challenges. Our course of action has been to partner with local government and reputable NGOs – ones who are embedded in the communities we serve and truly understand the needs on the ground.
We believe, one of the difficulties Desolenator faced was the optimisation of the technology; procuring high-quality materials whilst maintaining economic costs – right? With this new grant, can we expect to see more pilots taking shape in the near future?
We have many exciting projects in the pipeline so watch this space!
We certainly will! Finally, do you have any wisdom/advice to new or inspiring start-ups and designers who want to make an impact on climate action, are there any resources you would recommend?
There is no Planet B – we need entrepreneurs and designers now more than ever. Keep feeding yourself inspiration to take that first leap or to keep you motivated when the road to success gets tough. Whether it’s attending an Extinction Rebellion March, watching David Attenborough or attending a lecture.
With these closing words of advice, it’s clear to see how important the first steps towards fighting climate change are, from joining a local cause, to using creativity for good. Desolenator’s success is just one example of how much potential a desire to change, can have. We can’t wait to see what happens next.