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MIT’s origami-inspired hydrogel harvests clean water from air with zero power

Xuanhe Zhao | Via Interesting Engineering | June 12, 2025

MIT’s novel device is a black, window-sized panel made of water-absorbing hydrogel, enclosed in a glass chamber with a special cooling layer.

Scientists in the US have developed a groundbreaking origami-inspired device which is capable of harvesting safe and affordable drinking water from the air and runs entirely on its own without the need for electricity.

The research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) designed the black, window-sized vertical panel to tackle the global water crisis, which reportedly affects 2.2 billion people worldwide, including 46 million in the US.

Made from a water-absorbent hydrogel and enclosed in a glass chamber coated with a cooling layer, the device is designed to improve access to water by utilizing the atmosphere as its primary source, which researchers estimate holds millions of billions of gallons in the form of vapor… Continue reading.

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