Oct 7, 2011 / ENERGY GLOBE Award
Project presentation - "Water for everyone"
One of the greatest challenges of our time is that more than a billion people worldwide have no access to clean drinking water. This results in illnesses and deaths.
A simple solution is the HelioTech water treatment system by Peter Türk, which implements an age-old idea: Drinking water is produced from sea water without a huge desalination plant that costs millions of dollars. The principle is simple: The water is first boiled in high-performance vacuum solar pipes; then it is condensed in a catch tank. The produced water is absolutely free of bacteria and can be used immediately as drinking water.
There have been many attempts to utilize this principle, but they failed because the aggressive sea water eroded the pipes. In five years of development work, Peter Türk found that titanium is the appropriate material and discovered the technology to process it. During this time he often wanted to quit, but: “So many people desire and require this water producing thing – I simply had to carry on.”
Türk’s HelioTech water treatment system is also suited for remote areas and, because it measures only 2 x 2 x 2 meters, it can be installed anywhere. Per square meter and hour of sunlight it produces two liters of water – free of cost and 100% sterile. Due to the materials used and the design, there is hardly any wear. The HelioTech water treatment system provides a long-lasting, reliable and economical option to supply even areas of low population density with life-giving drinking water.