Clare postgraduate student, Ariffin Mohamad Annuar (2021), is the co-lead author in a report published yesterday that shows how a device developed by researchers at the University was able to produce clean water from highly polluted water such as the River Cam.

Taking its inspiration from photosynthesis, this floating, solar powered device can turn contaminated water or seawater into clean hydrogen fuel and purified water, anywhere in the world.

“In remote or developing regions, where clean water is relatively scarce and the infrastructure necessary for water purification is not readily available, water splitting is extremely difficult,” said co-lead author Ariffin Mohamad Annuar. “A device that could work using contaminated water could solve two problems at once: it could split water to make clean fuel, and it could make clean drinking water.”

You can read more about how the device was created here. 

The research was supported in part by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme, The European Research Council, the Cambridge Trust, the Petronas Education Sponsorship Programme, and the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability.