The Need
In many under-resourced or remote regions, access to safe drinking water is compromised by the lack of reliable electricity needed to power standard point-of-use (POU) treatment systems, such as UV disinfection units. Where clean water infrastructure is absent or unreliable, communities face increased exposure to waterborne pathogens. There is a critical need for self-powered, scalable, and infrastructure-independent water treatment solutions that can be deployed at the household or community level.

The Technology
This point-of-use water treatment system integrates a micro-hydropower turbine with a UV or filtration treatment component. Installed inline on a water pipe—such as under a sink or at a distribution point—the turbine harvests energy directly from water flow to power the treatment module in real time, without batteries or external power. The system is engineered to operate under standard residential water pressure (≥30 psi), generating sufficient power (≥1.5W) to activate UV light arrays or filtration mechanisms effectively.

Commercial Applications
• Off-grid or rural water purification systems
• Humanitarian and disaster relief portable water solutions
• Smart home water quality systems
• Military or field-deployable water treatment units
• Residential and commercial point-of-use water devices

Benefits/Advantages
• Fully self-powered: no grid electricity or batteries required
• Compact, modular design for easy installation (e.g., under-sink)
• Enables reliable UV or filtration treatment in low-resource settings
• Real-time energy conversion with no need for energy storage
• Scalable for both single-outlet and multi-outlet configurations

Patent application filed