Peruvian Billboard Makes Water From Air

Peru’s University of Engineering and Technology now bears the unique distinction of having designed the world’s first billboard that harvests humidity into potable water. What’s the point, you might ask? The university wanted to make an impact in order to interest potential students in its programs and opportunities. Meanwhile, Peru’s capital city, Lima, is the second-largest capital in the world located in a desert—its annual rainfall is a mere .51 inches—and many residents draw water from polluted wells. Ironically though, the atmospheric humidity in the mountainous area is 98 percent.

The university teamed up with advertising agency Mayo DraftFCT, but the billboard is so much more than an advertisement. Its generators capture the air’s humidity and transform it into purified water using reverse osmosis. Five tanks at the top of the tower can store as much as 96 liters of water, which is accessible to residents through a faucet located at the billboard’s base. Since the water is pulled straight from the air and then processed through a filtration system, it is guaranteed to be clean enough to drink.

[Images via John Donalisio]