Squeezing water from… air

The drought in the Western Cape has led to the establishment of this innovative business and today, Aquasky’s production facility is a first in the industry.

- Zerelda Esterhuizen

Crises often lead to unexpected innovations, and it is often in times of need that people come up with great ideas. One such plan for a new business was born during the serious drought in the Western Cape in 2017.

Today, Brendan Williamson is the MD of Aquasky, which uses technology to extract water from the air and bottling it. He says that as Capetonians with Day Zero looming before them, they quickly had to adapt to the new norm, conserving water and finding new solutions.

He was in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry for many years, and during that time he took a break and used the time to investigate several options in finding a sustainable solution for water shortages. He came upon the concept of extracting water from air, and because he has always wanted to start his own business, he began investigating it. The concept fascinated him, and he saw it as a possible solution for municipalities to produce water for service delivery.

“With Day Zero looming, people started looking at all kinds of solutions to begin filling dams and reservoirs, but the air-to-water technology could not be used for this. So, one should rather begin by looking at the bigger picture. If these units are used daily, you reduce the demand and pressure on the national water system. This water is ready to drink. Just think of its potential if it could be used at schools and clinics.”

Although the government was not interested in his idea, two venture capitalists in the audience at a conference did believe it was a bright idea and supplied the seed capital for his venture.