InnovationSaturday, November 14
A Wrenshall farm is building portable devices that pull drinking water from the air
The Daily Duluth team
Jason Amundsen, co-owner of Locally Laid Egg Company, is in the final stages of launching H2O Now. Its devices collect moisture from humid air, then filter and treat it for drinking or farm use. Northern News Now says the design borrows HVAC technology, much like a dehumidifier.
H2O Now has four devices in the manufacturing pipeline
| Device | Powered by |
|---|---|
| 12-volt | Car battery |
| 24-volt | Lithium-ion battery |
| 48-volt | Lithium-ion battery |
| 110/220-volt | Standard wall outlet |
Source: Northern News Now
UMD engineering students helped build the first versions. Amundsen's goal: "a teenager, someone not very strong, can set these up in less than an hour, deploy it and have water."
- State grant: $48,955 from the AGRI Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant program
- Output: up to three gallons a day per module
- Setup: users supply their own batteries and solar panels
- Market target: spring 2027
H2O Now added university partners and hopes to reach the market in spring 2027
- 2023The University of St. Thomas joins the project.
- 2025The University of Texas at Austin joins the project.
- Spring '27Amundsen hopes to bring the device to market.
Source: Northern News Now
Sources: WDIO.com, Fox21Online, Northern News Now