Water from air: UAE firm makes dispensers used by royals

The company makes portable units as well; these can be used on road trips and outdoor activities

Waheed Abbas

Published: Sun 22 Oct 2023, 2:37 PM

Last updated: Sun 22 Oct 2023, 10:44 PM

UAE residents can now drink water that has been produced from the air in their homes and offices. Ma Hawa, a company based in the Emirates, has manufactured multiple dispensers that produce water from air. Hundreds of visitors at the recently concluded Gitex Global quenched their thirst with the company’s pure water last week.

While the product is currently only available to corporates, it will soon be available in retail. The company produces water bottles of two volumes – a 330ml botte which costs Dh3, and a 700ml bottle which is priced at Dh6.

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How does it work?

The water goes through multiple stages before it is good enough to drink.

“The purified air is drawn in and cooled to extract water. The resulting condensate undergoes a treatment process, ultimately transforming it into safe and clean drinking water,” said Amro Asmael, director of marketing, Ma Hawa.

Amro Asmael

Initially, the system utilises a series of filters to purify the air. The whole water generation procedure begins with a heat exchanger process. After that, the water goes into the buffer tank and then is passed through three layers of filtration.

In the final phase, the water goes through UV rays to kill any bacteria.

30 litres of drinking water per day

“This water is available in a lot of VIP meetings… A lot of royal palaces in the UAE are using it,” said Asmael.

Costing Dh14,000 a piece, Genny can extract 30 litres of drinking water per day directly from the air and is designed for use at homes and small offices. It has already sold out to Adnec, government entities, exhibition centres, parks and headquarters of corporates.

“This water dispenser creates 11,000 litres of water every year without exploiting any water resource, saves the planet from the use of 45,000 plastic bottles annually, and reduces the carbon footprint by 4,500 kgs annually,” he added.

Portable units

Another product, named the Mobile Box, produces up to 25 litres of fresh drinking water and is portable as well - perfect for outdoor activities. It costs just under $5,000 (Dh18,350).

“This is ideal for those who are on the move. This lightweight solution eliminates the need to carry plastic bottles or search for open water sources. Tailored for road travellers, campers, and personal use, the device is a portable water-generating unit perfect for, camping vans, long-haul trucks, and more,” said Asmael.

Gen-M1, meanwhile, is a medium-scale portable unit with a capacity of up to 220 litres of drinking water per day.

Demand exceeding supply

A subsidiary of Baynunah Watergeneration Technologies, the company has a bottling factory based in Al Ain. It also claims to have patent technology for air-to-water generation.

Asmael added that there is more demand than supply, hence, the company is looking to expand its production.

“Now we have a small production line which produces about 3,000 bottles every day. Our new factory is under construction in Kizad and will be running in a few weeks. This will produce 4,500 bottles per hour. This will be enough to cover the entire the UAE and even for export purposes,” he added.

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