The tech that could turn data centres into clean water producers

Water might cover most of our planet, but a scant portion of it is immediately usable. 97 % is salt water, 2 % is in glaciers, meaning that only 1 % is accessible. Of this 1 %, agriculture consumes over two-thirds, leaving a minuscule amount for drinking and industry.

This leaves one main path for humanity: turning salt water into fresh water. The challenge, though, is that the traditional method, reverse osmosis, relies on extreme pressure, resulting in carbon emissions and chemical-laden brine that harms the environment.

Desolenator offers an alternative: circular water desalination.

By approaching water and energy as an interconnected system, Desolenator eliminated both carbon emissions and chemical waste from the purification process. The genesis of this idea was when Desolenator’s founder realised that cooling hot solar panels with circulating water could dramatically improve their efficiency.

In other words, by capturing heat, they could treat dirty water to extract pure drinking water.

Now, Desolenator has scaled this thermal process into a sophisticated multi-effect distillation system. Instead of boiling water at 100 °C, they do so at just 70 °C, significantly reducing energy requirements.

This system can use various sources of waste heat, whether that’s solar, geothermal, or industry — and that presents a massive opportunity for all sorts of sectors. There’s one particular area though where Desolenator’s technology can thrive: data centres.

These are often built in arid regions, generate vast amounts of waste heat and consume a lot of water for cooling.

By integrating Desolenator's technology, these facilities can use their waste heat to power the desalination process. This not only cools the data centres without massive energy expenditure but also generates pure water.

Ultimately, this transforms massive data centres from heavy water consumers into net water producers, taking a vital step towards a sustainable future where energy, water, and food systems work in harmony.

Watch our video below to learn more.