NEW TELEGRAPH
A team of scientists have discovered that electricity can be generated from water vapour or air.
A report of the European Union (EU) study on air-sourced electricity disclosed that water vapour or air can carry electrical charge.
Daily Telegraph learnt on Sunday that though there had been past efforts which resulted in some inroads, current breakthroughs present better results.
The project, called CATCHER, was funded by the European Innovation Council’s Pathfinder programme. It brought together eight partners from six countries in Europe to explore the possibility of getting electricity from air or water vapour.
A partner in CATCHER, Andriy Lyubchyk stated that the aim of the project is to expand a clean-energy mix by perfecting the conversion of atmospheric humidity into electricity.
Lyubchyk who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Portuguese start-up Cascatachuva Lda, said the technique involves harvesting the tiny charges of static electricity contained in gaseous water molecules, which, he stated are ubiquitous in the atmosphere.
He explained that the process is known as hydroelectricity or humidity electricity.
He said, ‘With this new renewable-energy source, we believe we will drastically increase the efficiency and the possibilities of the green-energy transition.’
The report stated that while the general idea might be the same, the particular technology used by CATCHER is very different to Tesla’s. It added that the project uses panel-like cells made from zirconium oxide – a hard crystalline material – to capture energy from atmospheric humidity.
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