Credit: Zero Mass

Our atmosphere contains approximately 3,100 cubic miles of water — enough to cover the entire planet in one inch of water.

That water surrounds us in the form of vapor — water’s gaseous, evaporated state. We’re usually only reminded of this on especially humid days, but our air can actually be considered a water source.

Zero Mass Water, a sustainable water startup, is trying to create an easy, off-grid way for anyone to harvest that liquid with its first product, Source.

Each Source unit looks like a solar panel resting on top of a metal box. Company CEO Cody Friesen, a material scientist and engineering professor at Arizona State University, says the device essentially uses sunlight to produce electricity and heat, and which allows a set of proprietary materials to passively catch the humidity in the air.

Friesen won’t say how those materials are engineered or what they’re made of, but explains that they’re designed to have an ideal binding energy for water vapor.

He compares the process to the grains of rice you’ll sometimes find inside salt shakers in […]