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Future Events:
Third Annual International Atmospheric Water Harvesting Summit: details to come! Join our newsletter for updates.
Our Focus on Collaboration and Outreach
Two of our core priorities center on Facilitation and Leverage, aligning with our philosophy of serving as “unbiased brokers of knowledge.” Facilitation involves organizing and hosting events that assemble experts and key stakeholders in water technologies to foster education and meaningful discussion. Research can often become restricted and limited by its familiar perspectives. Engaging with experts from a myriad of sectors or academics from varied disciplines can broaden understanding and bring about new insights. By uniting these perspectives, we aim to identify gaps in current technologies and drive creative solutions to address them effectively.
See below for a summary of our previously hosted events.
Second Annual International Water Harvesting Summit
The 2nd Atmospheric Water Harvesting (AWH) Summit built on our inaugural event’s establishment of “Atmospheric Water Harvesting” as a field and brought about the creation of the International Atmospheric Water Harvesting Association (IAWHA.org), dedicated to advancing sustainable water management. The summit gathered researchers, industry leaders, startups, local government officials, and end-users to develop a 20-year AWH technology and commercialization roadmap, with inspiration from the evolution of water technologies like desalination, ozone, and ultraviolet light. We focused on identifying material and system innovations, performance metrics, market opportunities across diverse applications, piloting and scale-up requirements, regulatory frameworks, and research and investment needs. The summit fostered joint dialogue to propel AWH’s role in addressing local and global water challenges through a sustainable, scalable solution.
Industrial Brine Management Workshop
Brine is produced through processes such as hardness control, softening, and/or reverse osmosis, often with additional treatments, to transform tap water, groundwater, or industrial wastewater into various grades of ultrapure water. Manufacturers and commercial, industrial, and institutional water users typically complete these processes on-site. However, they increasingly face challenges in responsibly disposing of brine, as not all sewer systems can accept it, and those that do may impose additional processing fees. Current solutions include on-site evaporation ponds or off-site disposal, both of which involve significant costs and operational complexities. This workshop aimed to convene local industry partners, researchers, and experts to identify shared challenges, explore treatment and disposal solutions, and establish a knowledge-sharing network to advance effective strategies.
Sea of Cortez Water Importation Panel Discussion
This forum addressed Arizona’s ongoing need for innovative water resource solutions, with a focus on the potential importation of desalinated water from the Sea of Cortez. The event provided a neutral forum for informed, reasoned dialogue among experts and stakeholders to specifically examine the technical, economic, and environmental considerations of this complex proposal. While desalination offers a potential avenue for enhancing water security and resilience in Arizona, the panel highlighted the significant costs and challenges involved, fostering a balanced discussion to support the state’s sustainable water future.
First Annual International Water Harvesting Summit
The first Atmospheric Water Harvesting (AWH) Summit brought together researchers, startups, industry leaders, and end-users to advance solutions for global water challenges, with a focus on the water-insecure Southwestern USA. Addressing the lack of dedicated AWH forums, the event helped fostered collaboration across two areas: emerging applications for AWH, (think domestic drinking water, industrial uses in sectors like semiconductors and healthcare, and municipal cooling tower innovations); and advancements in materials, (like thermodynamics, and processes to improve water production, energy efficiency, and scalability). By bringing together diverse perspectives, the summit sparked dialogue to accelerate AWH’s role in achieving net-zero water footprints and addressing humanitarian, industrial, and energy transition needs.