Squeezing Water from Air? New Collaboration Looks to Generate Clean Water for America’s Military

The U.S. Army Research and Development Center (ERDC) announced a three-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with AirJoule Technologies to develop a reliable and resilient water source for military personnel across the globe, regardless of environmental conditions.

At the heart of the collaboration is AirJoule’s platform, which extracts water from ambient air, even in arid regions.

The technology works by pulling moisture from the air using sorbent-coated contactors, materials that act like a sponge. Once that material is full of water, the system seals itself off and applies a vacuum. Low-grade waste heat is used to release the captured vapor, which is condensed into clean, drinkable water.

As part of the collaboration the waste heat will be provided by U.S. Army ERDC’s tactical generators.

By recycling heat that would otherwise be lost, the system can produce water efficiently even in dry environments — offering a potential way for military bases and remote operations to make their own supply on site.

“AirJoule can operate in a wide range of environments, particularly when surface water and ground water sources are unavailable or contaminated,” said Matt Jore, CEO of AirJoule Technologies. “This agreement between ERDC and AirJoule Technologies marks a significant step forward for integrating our AirJoule technology platform into real-life use cases to benefit the U.S. military.”

The company says its A1000 model can generate 1,000 liters of water at less than 200 Wh (watt hours) of energy per liter.

ERDC advancing military power technology

Heat-driven atmospheric water generation is just one of the many technologies under investigation by the ERCD, which is the premiere research and development arm of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Earlier this year, ERDC unveiled the Army’s first fully self-sufficient hydrogen-powered nanogrid at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

Essentially a smaller version of a microgrid, a nanogrid is a compact, portable and nearly silent self-contained electric power generation system that operates independently of the power grid.

Developed by Sesame Solar, the White Sands nanogrid includes solar panels, an atmospheric water generator and an electrolyzer that splits hydrogen from water. Energy is stored in a fuel cell and a battery system.

ERDC is also testing long-duration energy storage system at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Contingency Basing Integration Training Evaluation Center (CBITEC) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.