The Tough Tech problem we are solving
Freshwater is a finite resource, and treating or desalinating it takes energy, a constraint that becomes more urgent as demand rises. The World Economic Forum estimates that worldwide freshwater demand could exceed supply by 40 percent by 2030, and the WWF estimates that about 46 percent of global GDP will come from regions facing high water risk. At the same time, a University of Edinburgh study found that up to 72 percent of the energy generated globally from primary sources is lost as waste heat. About 60 percent of that lost heat is low grade, under 240°C, or ultralow grade, under 80°C, too weak for most conventional uses. Water scarcity and wasted energy are, in effect, two sides of the same unsolved problem.
About our solution
Rehydrate, with roots at Harvard and MIT, is building a system to treat or desalinate water using energy sources that are abundant but currently underutilized, chiefly the waste heat that industrial and power processes already produce. The approach targets three areas: potable reuse, desalination, and industrial water reclamation. Rather than treating water and energy as separate constraints, Rehydrate's system is designed to run on the low-grade and ultralow-grade heat that most conventional processes can't use, turning a byproduct that would otherwise be wasted into the energy source for clean water production.