SolarDew is a Dutch water technology company that produces clean drinking water from sources like seawater, brackish groundwater, and even heavily contaminated supplies using only solar heat and gravity. Their innovative membrane distillation modules harness sunlight to evaporate water and then condense the vapor through a membrane, effectively leaving salts, heavy metals, and other impurities behind. Because the system requires no electricity or complex infrastructure, it is ideal for providing safe water in remote communities with little or no existing water treatment facilities. This sustainable, standalone solution empowers communities to access reliable clean water using nothing more than the power of the sun.
In a collaborative effort to further improve its membrane technology, SolarDew engaged the EMI Twente for advanced materials analysis. EMI Twente’s experts performed multiple analyses on SolarDew’s membrane samples, including high-resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) imaging to inspect the membrane’s microstructure and tensile strength testing to evaluate mechanical strength. The data from these tests provided insights that SolarDew is now using to refine their membrane design and enhance overall performance. By understanding the membrane’s structure and behavior at a microscopic level, SolarDew can optimize its solar distillation modules for greater performance, ultimately delivering even better service and reliability to their clients.
EMI Twente’s detailed analyses gave us insight into our membrane structure. Their expertise and state-of-the-art facilities have helped us optimize our solar distillation technology, taking our product to the next level.
Alexander van der Kleij
CTO
