Cool Tech

LIGHT FANTASTIC

WaterLight is a portable device that converts half a litre of salt water into 45 days of light.

Imagine a lamp that is so versatile that, if necessary, can run on micturate (that’s urine to you and me, or if you will, piss). Only in emergencies, however, because the ingenious portable WaterLight can also turn 500ml of salt water into light capable of lasting up to 45 days.

Developed by Colombian renewable energy start-up E-Dina and Wunderman Thompson, WaterLight works through ionisation. When saltwater electrolytes react with magnesium inside the device, electrical energy is produced.

WaterLight can also be used to charge small devices through a USB port. “WaterLight demonstrates how the holy trinity of technology, creativity and humanity can produce a genuinely ground-breaking idea,” says Wunderman Thompson global chief creative officer Bas Korsten, “one which holds the potential to transform life for millions of people.”

Waterproof and made from recyclable material, the device has an expected life of about 5,600 hours, or two to three years of use.

Set for a worldwide rollout, WaterLight is available for purchase by NGOs, governments and private organisations. ■

One potential use is for night fishing by remote communities near the Colombia-Venezuela border.

There’s a whole other world of HVAC&R to discover in Ecolibrium magazine.