FreshWater Solutions

In the world, almost two million people die annually from lack of access to drinkable water and it is likely that in 15 years, half of the world's population will live in areas where there will not be enough water. 

FreshWater's mission is bring quality purified water to rural communities located in areas that do not have drinking water. We use technology to obtain purified water from the air. The technology accelerates the natural water cycle, by capturing microparticles of ambient water and transforming it into a “cloud and then rain”, which goes through a process of filtration, purification and sterilization, producing between 9 and 28 liters of water per day. 

We can provide this technology to communities who don’t have access to quality drinking water. These people are at risk of being affected by diseases as a result of poor water quality such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio.

In Chile almost 382,000 families don’t have access to piped drinking water, in Latin America and the Caribbean this number increases to 34,000,000 people without access to safe drinking water, and in the world almost 2 billion people regularly drink contaminated which can produce diseases such as cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. According to the WHO, in 2012 there were 842,000 deaths annually from the lack of safe water[1] and in 2016 “contaminated drinking-water was estimated to have caused more than 500,000 diarrhoeal deaths and is a major factor in several neglected tropical diseases, including intestinal worms, schistosomiasis, and trachoma” [2]

In the next 15 years, half of the world population will live in areas without enough water for everyone. This is because of population growth, climate change, contamination and others. Governments in the region are solving the problem with water wells and delivered tank trucks, but the water they deliver is mostly contaminated. For this reason diseases are increasing, deteriorating the quality of life for many people.

[1] https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases-risks/es/

[2] https://www.who.int/en/news-room/detail/13-04-2017-radical-increase-in-water-and-sanitation-investment-required-to-meet-development-targets

Mainly we have worked with Chilean communities, however, we also have worked with a community from El Salvador. None of these communities have access to clean water to drink or cook. Currently our impact has meant that more than 3,000 families and 1,600 children can drink FreshWater every day. We have achieved an average saving of 82% in monthly water purchases, an 80% in monthly savings in fuel for water transport and a 28% increase in the attendance of children in rural schools and kindergartens.

It’s very important work with the community before implementation, because it’s necessary to understand their cultural habits and habits of water consumption to ensure a good technology adoption and continuity of technology over time. For this reason we developed a three-phase methodology: Community process, implementation and determining impact indicators. In all of these phases the community participates to understand how the technology works and what the benefits can be.

As a cloud condenses the air and makes it rain, FreshWater uses air particles to deliver clean water to people who do not have access to it. 

Freshwater seeks to be a self-sustaining solution giving access to drinkable water to homes and isolated communities without access to this. We could incorporate solar system energy or electricity to produce this process improving the quality of life to those without access to this basic need.

A FreshWater system recovers the water suspended in the atmosphere, through the phenomenon of condensation of water at ambient pressure and using multiple filter stages, the system allows the provision of 9 to 28 liters of purified water per day with high-quality standards and low energy consumption.

To delivered this solution, FreshWater makes project with the communities to ensure a good technology adoption and continuity of use over time. For these reason, FreshWater developed a three phase methodology.

PHASE 1: Understanding the community and Co-Creation.

Understand the community allow us to understand the context in situ, technically and socially. This first approach to the community helps us to realize the needs around water, consumption habits and place to implement the system, according to security protocol. The activity of co-creation aims to achieve acceptance of the technology prior to its implementation.

PHASE 2: Implementation

The second step introduces and installs the system that responds to the community needs. The community also defines the actors who will be responsible for the equipment. Based on the decision with the community, we train people who were declared in charge of the machine in the use, maintenance and operation of these. They will be monitoring the implementation and operation of the system over time.

PHASE 3: Monitoring, Evaluation, Impact

After being the systems implemented we develop final installations in location and if is necessary we can train in use, maintenance and operation of the technology to more people from community. We monitor and evaluate the performance of the system and habits of consume from the people who is using it by IoT technology. In this phase we can measure the impact the solution has had on the community, as well as fixes a problem remotely if is necessary. If it is required, the implementation of more systems will be evaluated.

For communities located in remote and / or sub-urban areas, there are currently traditional alternatives such as the construction of reservoirs, APR (rural potable water wells) or delivered water trucks. As well as using varied filters to improve the condition from the water tap. However, most of them larger scale solutions become obsolete in the short or medium term, because it depends on certain weather conditions that are no longer exist and/or deteriorating over time by the absence of caregivens who can maintain it, once installed.

For this reason, we produced an effective human scale solution that generates a continuous and unlimited source of purified water.  We give a sustainable, fast and effective solution of purified water to drink from the air, co-created and adapted in conjunction with the community and its reality. We seek to be a plug and play solution that can run one electricity, battery or solar power, being energy efficient and concerned with reducing the carbon and water footprint. We introduce technology with an inclusive model to improve people’s quality life.  

FreshWater seeks to ensure that homes and rural school could achieve their independence, not depending on third parties because the machine has a simple design for use, operation and maintenance. Easily the community can maintain and repair the machine without any difficult.

A FreshWater system recovers the water suspended in the atmosphere and through the phenomenon of condensation of water at ambient pressure can produces water. This intelligent system simulates the natural water cycle capturing particles of water from the air and inside the machine creates a cloud, make the cloud rain and purifies it by passing through a filtration, purification and sterilization process obtaining fresh, safe and unlimited source of water that everybody can drink. FreshWater is a point of sustainable drinkable water, without chemicals, chlorine, fluorine or preservatives, without expiry in time. 

The system also incorporates IoT technology that allows us to monitor, configure some variables and operate parameters remotely, either under normal communication conditions or extreme situations. In addition, this system allows us to measure indicators of production and consumption that the machine and the community have had after implementing the technology.

The important differentiation is how we created a methodology that includes the community into the implementation process of the solution allowing a successful use of the systems. In simple words, we created a model that suits our users. We made possible for excluded and remote communities to have access to cutting-edge technology.

We expect FreshWater can solution the problem because this is an easy-to-use and sustainable solution at the time. The community becomes parts of this implementation, not having to rely on third parties for the use and maintain it because the community's or school's responsible is trained to ensure operation over time. In addition, FreshWater monitors remotely to know consumptions habits and thus analyze if there is some problem with the implementation. All of this has done thanks to the 3 phases program in which FreshWater makes sure the acceptance and understanding of this system into the community.

Evidence after FreshWater has implemented the solution shows that the impact has been:

·         82% average saving in monthly water purchase

·         80% fuel saving by monthly water transportation

·         28% increase attendance of children Rural Schools and Infant School

·         Ensure class continuity in Kindergarten

·         Decrease discomfort and / or stomach diseases

·         Facilitate cooking food, especially Altiplano Community (3.800 m.a.s.l), where natural water is contaminated and so hard.

Therefore, we have developed a process with strategic interventions aimed at local communities that ensure commitment to the project and continuity of this over time, which makes this solution viable to solve the water scarcity problem in rural communities as well as cities. Likewise constant monitoring from our part helps us as learning to continue improving in the effectiveness of the system.

Today 15,000 people consume FreshWater every day. This represents 4% of Chilean people who doesn’t have access to clean water. This have allowed us influenced in educational and health indicators such as ensured the continuous operation of kindergartens and increased the frequency of attendance of children with stomach and diabetic problems.

In one more year, we expect to reach 50,000 more people, involving Chilean and foreign communities that have water scarcity problems.

In 5 more years, we expect to cover 200,000 families, which equates to approximately 1,000,000 people from Chile, Latin America and the world.

By the next year we hope to have provided 100 machines to India thanks to an agreement we have signed with a distribution company there. In Chile, we have big challenges where we hope to impact more than 20 rural schools in the south of Chile. Regarding Latin America, nowadays we are working with organizations and people from Perú, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia to make projects there, so we hope to close deals with some of these countries to provide this technology to different communities in Latin America.

To make this solution more scalable we are already in talks with different distributors from other countries to find a new place to produce and distribute machines with less cost than Chile.

 In the next 5 years, in India we expect to provided 4,000 machines thanks to signed agreement with a Indian company to distribute at first two years and then produce there by Make in India government policy.

Our goals are reach an international presence through productive clusters in different places of the world to address the water problem. Our goal is to be available to any community that needs access to safe drinking water. We believe by having different locations were the systems can be build we will facilitate the logistics and transportation to expand our impact. We will keep building relationships with international partners in order to achieve this goal.

One of the barriers that currently exist to achieve our goals for the next year and for the next five years will be the state bureaucracy, which takes a long time to give resources for an immediate problem as lack of drinking water in communities. In addition to a mental barrier from the authorities who don’t easily bet on social technological innovation. We hope to break this “mental barrier” in the next five years, making projects with the government.

Poor understanding of cultural habits, consumption and community relations with public authority and/or companies causes any provided solutions could be rejected after implementation, being deprecated or abandoned. We are constantly working with new communities around the world so this will decrease as soon as we could make more projects in the world.

Geographical location is a natural barrier, where the state and privates companies are not willing to invest time and resources as their economic and political profitability doesn’t redeem in the short or medium term. This barrier could obstruct our goals for the next year and for the next five year.

High distribution costs are a barrier that complicates the realization of project in different places of the world. This could be a barrier in the next years which will depends on find official distributors in different continents that could help us to reduce project costs.

Regarding to the barrier related to the state bureaucracy, it is very difficult for us overcome it to our own. Since one year ago we have been working with different government departments to introduce our solution to communities that they manage so we hope that in a year they can rely on the operation of the machine and that will help us reach other government departments.

To make sure we know cultural habits of communities and how they relate to other organisms, we developed a three phase methodology which envisages a community process and co-creation that allows FreshWater to collaboratively together with other organizations who already worked in a common language with communities, be able to implement technology and this could be appropriate as a social actor over time.

The natural barrier to the geographical location of different rural communities will remain a barrier as government and private people do not invest in these communities because generally to getting to them you need a high budget.

We are talking to partner with distribution organizations around the world that can generate different productive cluster in strategic locations where distribution cost are low. This would allow us to provide systems in different parts of the world at a lower cost than from Chile.

8 people work on the team. 

• 4 full-time staff

• 4 part-time staff

We are a multidisciplinary team that allows us to know all the knowledge necessary to develop this project. 

• Hector Pino, CEO and Co-founder: Extensive experience in leadership in the design and implementation of strategies.He has experience in the field of systems technologies of water, which allows him to contribute to the development of this project.

• Alberto Gonzalez, Director of Product Design: He has been involved from the beginning with the development of systems and the integration of new materialities for product design. During the last decade he has worked mainly as university professor of industrial design. This has enabled us to be in direct contact with the latest technology in materials, as well as with the latest advances in related technologies.

• Carlos Bramey, Operation Manager: Carlos has worked for the last 30 years in the field of military technology and specifically in submarines. This knowledge has led to FreshWater to lead projects and the development of innovative solutions. 

• Alejandro Collao, Manager of Development and Electronics: Responsible for the development and integration of technologies ICT, HD and SW, computer arming and programming systems.

• Javier Leal, project coordinator: Responsible for carrying out the different phases of work that involve the development of projects.

• Alvaro Cordero: Assembly of systems

• Ignacio Guerra: Experience in international business, in charge of doing international projects

• Paulina Vidal: Alliance and funds coordinator, experience working with startups helping their development

• ProteinLab, UTEM: Support in design, improvements and electronic development

• Fundación Vivienda: Integrating technology into social housing

• Socialab: Organization that supports and powers sustainable businesses with social impact in Chile and Latam

• Agora Partnership, CATIE y Fundación Avina: Support in expansion in Latin America

• C3D Open Innovation: Improved systems through the use of robotics, mechatronics and IoT integration

• Chile Global Venture (Fundación Chile): Platform dedicated to supporting innovative and high-impact ventures

• CORFO: Support of public funds for international development to research and scale

• Startup Chile: Business accelerator which work with high level of entrepreneurship based on innovation in Chile

• Avonni (Foro Innovación): Supporting relationships with companies and spreading in media.

• Fundación Amulen: Foundation with we have an Alliance to develop social projects together.

Currently we have different models depending from the source of funding. Consulting Sale, a third party pays and usually it’s a foundation. Co-Branding Model we associate with a brand who sponsors a set amount of communities. Leasing Model the systems are paid in quotas or by saving energy. To scale we are developing technological transfer model to replicate the technology in order to lower logistical costs. We also want to implement the water as a service model where communities can create a business by selling water from the machine.

Our solution has the potential to generate new business models depending on the user/client. This could allow us to explore the service business model were owners of the systems can create a business from the machines. For example, they can acquire the systems through a lease (monthly payment) and they can also sell the water from the systems creating a new source of income for this users. This is a model that we want to explore and test in order to amplify our impact not only for the water access but also for the creation of new jobs. Also, as an impact indicator, the systems allow to the whole community, mostly women to gain time to spend in other tasks, as education or work because they not need to worry about a safe water supply. We believe our solution has the potential to change a person life and impact their whole community in a sustainable way.

Currently to finance our work, we are generating a combination of revenue from different actors. We generate money from:

• Income by sales of systems

• Income by sales of supplies, filters and parts of the system

• Income per services of maintenance and technical support

Sales can be provided through a B2B or B2C model however we prioritize B2B model for the core of the business. 

Public funds have been an important source to grow in Chile and Latin America. These funds have allowed us to developed new prototypes and business. 

Now we are seeking for capital ventures to scale in different countries faster by distributions alliances. These alliances will allow us to create another business model getting incomes by royalty to produce our systems and a commission for quantity of sales. 

We are applying to Solve because we want to generate a partnership which could support us in the development of the machine to include new technology and engineering that MIT has available. This can lead to faster introduction in remote areas that do not have clean water and are constantly suffering from health problems. Finding a way to produce these machines faster will make us scale to countries that have an urgent need for safe water.

Also Solve has a huge community which could help us to find new funds to apply, capital investors, foundations interested and other people who could help us to develop our company and create new projects in all the continents. 

we are seeking distribution organizations to produce and distribute our machines in different places of the world and also we are seeking for partners who can improve our machine to reduce costs and provide the machine to every part of the world easily.

The prize will help us the internationalization of the systems and will allow us to prove our scalability models. We want to expand our impact by having operations in different parts of Latin America in countries where we already have partnerships and connections as Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Mexico and to other regions that need this solution like Africa. The prize will allow us to generate stock and add key human resources to the team that will be responsible for international market and logistics. We will also include a process to measure and elaborate social impact reports constantly. 

Children’s health is the most important concern for us so we need to scale our model to reach every place where people and children are constantly suffering health problems from not having clear water.