When a severe drought hit the Indian city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, in 2016, residents including student Swapnil Shrivastav had access to a limited amount of water each day.While he says it’s not uncommon for water supply issues to impact parts of India, it was a tough month for Mr Shrivastav and others in the region. “It was a very humid area; it was unmanageable.”
Their system converts air to water using atmospheric water generators that contain a liquid desiccant, which absorbs moisture from the air. “We realised the tech still needs more time to scale up and come down in cost,” says Mr Shrivastav. “Or someone should fund it, but we haven’t found the support in India.”
There appears to be a market for the technology. Valued at $3.4bn in 2022, the atmospheric water generation market is expected to be worth $13.5bn in 2032, While many visited a nearby river to fetch water for cooking, drinking and washing, Koigi says she couldn’t bring herself to drink the contaminated water.She started looking for other water source ideas and set up a water filter company before developing an air-to-water system.Majik's biggest unit produces 500 litres of water in 24 hours and is installed in schools and small communities.“Honestly, I feel like this is not the solution to water scarcity,” says Ms Koigi.