With the increased awareness of a growing global water crisis, finding ways to generate water are becoming critical. French inventor Marc Parent and his company Eole Water have created a proof-of-concept wind-powered refrigeration/condensation/filtration unit that essentially grabs water from thin air.

The WMS1000 Wind Turbine is a fifth generation water production system that was installed in Abu Dhabi last October. It has steadily been extracting 130-200 gallons (approximately 500-800L) of clean, fresh water a day ever since. Equipped with a revolutionary food safe stainless steel quality alloy, the water condenser system sits on top of a 78 foot (24m) mast and is powered by a 30 kW wind turbine (which requires a minimum 15 mph (24 kph) wind speed) with a 42 foot (13 m) diameter rotor. The wind generates electricity that the on-board cooling units use to chill the air until the moisture it creates condenses out.

Once the water is collected, it’s filtered and then sent to stainless steel tanks for storage. With routine regular maintenance, the unit is estimated to last 30 years. Eole has also designed the WMS-30kW Solar Panel to drive the condensation/filtration equipment. This is an exciting demonstration of how to bring water to even the most arid lands in the world.