Researchers in Saudi Arabia have created a device that can produce electricity from sunlight while simultaneously purifying water, an invention they say could solve two problems at once.
The team found the device can be used to purify saltwater as well as seawater to safe drinking standards as per World Health Organisation regulations, while producing energy from a solar panel at 11% efficiency, on par with regular solar panels.
Professor Peng Wang, a co-author of the research from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, says lack of access to safe drinking water affects more than 780 million people worldwide and hopes this new technology can be adopted on a large scale.