Turn Saltwater Into Drinking Water With This Ingenious New Device

An inventive new travel tool could be the solution to making sure camping trips are equipped with adequate water supply — all while helping to solve the global water shortage.

Launched earlier this month on Indiegogo in London, the QuenchSea is a handheld device, capable of transforming seawater into fresh, drinkable water. The tool could be used by campers and adventurers in an emergency, or by people who are without access to clean water.

“We started out trying to make a low-cost device that could help solve the world’s water crisis but soon realized its weight, dimensions, and price-point made it ideal for the adventurer market,” Lee King, CEO of Hydro Wind Energy told Travel + Leisure. “That is why we have combined both routes to ensure a positive humanitarian outcome.”

The “handheld seawater desalination device” is capable of producing more than two liters of fresh drinking water from seawater within an hour, through a system of osmosis membranes.

Users manually power a pump, which pushes water multiple filters, removing salt and other impurities to make it suitable for drinking. The device is capable of producing 4,700 gallons of fresh water before its membrane needs to be replaced.

Developers have high hopes for the product with their Indiegogo campaign to drum up pre-support, which could make the devices more cost-effective to produce and allowing it to be donated around the globe. They hope to donate 100 million QuenchSea devices by 2027, which could impact more than 1 billion people without access to clean water.

The product has passed an inspection by TÜV NORD, an independent inspection company in Germany.

Early birds can preorder a device for $59 on Indiegogo until July 15. It will still be available online afterward, with an expected delivery date of February 2021. Campers and activists alike can also donate about $30 (£25) to buy a device for a humanitarian clean water project.