US Air Force buys ‘first-of-a-kind’ tech to remove nuclear threats from water

Genesis Systems, a global technology developer for water scarcity, has signed a contract worth $1.25 million with the US Air Force that will enable the development of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) filtration technologies compatible with Atmospheric Water Generation (AWG) or Renewable Water from Air (RWA) systems.

This technological innovation will ensure that the Department of Defense (DoD) has access to clean, potable water in diverse and challenging environments by using water systems that capture water from the air.

“This is an essential first-of-a-kind product development,” Genesis Systems Co-Founder, President and COO David Stuckenberg said.

“The research will allow the creation of ensembles integral to the defense, health, and sustainment of operations across all branches of the Armed Forces by protecting members against man-made attacks and natural disasters that could impact the purity of water supplies generated from the air.”

Most viable solution

The U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and Marines have identified AWG and more advanced RWA systems as the most viable solution to theater and on-station water needs. These systems effectively extract water from ambient air at high energy efficiencies.

However, AWG and RWA systems must be operational even when exposed to CBRN threats and environmental issues that cause poor air quality, such as open burn pits and pollution.

The integration of these advancements in protecting water supplies can increase operational readiness while improving the health, hygiene, and safety of all personnel.

This product will significantly reduce the need for continuous logistics or water re-supplies, as safe, pure, potable water is provided in even harsh environments.

“When CBRN protections are integrated with quantum encryption, EMP hardening, and other protective measures, Genesis Systems will have moved humanity into uncharted waters – we will have in a literal way made possible un-interruptible water supplies [UWS],” Stuckenberg noted.

The tech

Talking to IE , Stuckenberg noted that Genesis Systems’ unique focus for nearly a decade has been the fundamental development of advanced nano-liquids that have an affinity for water vapor.

“The fluids work so well that they can capture water with almost no energy. As a result, these materials exceed the performance of solid materials such as Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) by orders of magnitude and they are far more scalable,” he said.

Outside Imperial College London, Genesis Systems has the world’s leading development program focused on high-efficiency utility-scale water systems.

“We are a center of excellence similar to Lockheed Martin’s Skunkworks – rather than focusing on advanced aircraft designs, we focus on advanced systems that create renewable water from air,” he added.

Stuckenberg said the technology helps overcome two fundamental problems associated with water scarcity, which now impacts 50 percent of all humans: supply and transportation.

While civilizations in South America began using water harvesting thousands of years ago, it was constrained to the mountains where fog nets collected water.

“The breakthroughs we’ve accomplished allow humans to capture water at utility-scale that incurs low costs and with a high level of efficiency nearly anywhere. This would not have been possible without new materials, designs and a cross-disciplinary team of engineers and scientists,” he added.

What’s the need

This past week, authorities began investigating a suspected poisoning of a water supply on a NATO military base in Germany.

These kinds of attacks are increasingly the focus of state and non-state actors. The Directors of the FBI and NSA have warned about water supplies being potential military and civilian targets for the Chinese government.

As the world’s population grows, technologies and designs being relied on must be robustly protected.

CBRN protections on these water-from-air systems will move Genesis towards an ambitious goal to create UWS.

In June, Genesis Systems partnered with QuSecure to create Earth’s first quantum-encrypted water systems. Such in-depth protections ( CBRN , Quantum Encryption, and EMP hardening) make the WaterCube robust and resilient in the face of most non-kinetic threats.

With the U.S. Army delivery, this is the first time in government history that they’ve had a successful, utility-scale system that produces renewable water from the air supply.

WaterCube’s freshwater production can support 10 US homes, a military battalion (300-1,000 soldiers), or humanitarian relief efforts nearly anywhere on Earth.

WaterCube was also the first system to include shielding against electromagnetic pulse (EMO) attacks and enable remote operations from anywhere on Earth. These elements make WaterCube the global benchmark for water from air.