CPM

A trio of inventors today unveiled the first working model of The HYDRA, a fuel cell-based device they say does all that, at a hydrogen-powered show house in Hopewell, N.J. They are taking orders at $99,500, and targeting the device at medical clinics, schools, remote communities, and disaster relief agencies.

“What we’re doing is using the sun to break water into hydrogen and oxygen, saving the oxygen for medical uses and using the hydrogen to power the fuel cell, which provides the energy to run the water purification system,” said Brad Carlson, COO of The Essential Element™, which is commercializing The HYDRA. “So it’s fully self-contained, needs no outside sources of power, and can be delivered to any point on the globe.”

One in eight people worldwide lack access to safe, clean drinking water, according to UNICEF and the World Health Organization, and many others walk miles a day for it. Over 3.5 million a year die from water-related disease, most of them children.

Dr. Devra Davis, founder of the Environment Health Trust, saw the device in operation at a sneak preview yesterday. She said it could address the fact that "people are dying every day because of their environment, and others live limited lives because of the scarcity of clean water. If The HYDRA specifications play out in the field by cleaning up contaminated surface water, and it provides stable clean water to communities, it would extend and boost the quality of life in many parts of the world."

Carlson said The HYDRA can be flown in by helicopter, dropped by parachute, or delivered on the back of a pickup truck. “It also gives water purification levels that are much purer, much cleaner than any other available,” he said, “so one of the beauties of this unit is that it can provide virus-free, bacteria-free drinking water in disaster relief areas.”

Peter Wernsdorfer, former Director of Public Works for the City of Allentown, Pa., commented after seeing it that, "As someone who was responsible for providing clean water to communities during emergencies, I consistently faced the logistical challenge of fueling remote equipment. The fact that The HYDRA is a self-contained power and water purification plant changes the game. It will probably save lives the first day it is put into service."

Its inventors say the device solves the problems of previous mobile water purification systems that rely on diesel fuel, which can easily spill and contaminate water supplies; heavy, expensive, low-efficiency solar panels; or high-maintenance batteries with limited life and storage capacity. The HYDRA’s mobile solar/hydrogen fuel cell uses light-weight, low-power components and very fine water filters.

A company slogan is “pure drinking water everywhere the sun shines—even when it isn’t.” David Squires, CFO of the new company, explained that hydrogen can store energy for a long time, “so with this system, we can go anywhere without fossil fuels.” The oxygen produced can also be stored for use by medical facilities near or far. Electrical devices can be plugged directly into the unit.

Mike Strizki, an inventor who has outfitted his home in Hopewell with hydrogen power, is the new company’s CTO. “This is disruptive technology that is starting a revolution,” he said. “If you look at the recent oil well blowout in the Gulf, we can’t afford to do things the way we used to do them. Hydrogen has the promise of having total renewability, and storage – something that the grid can’t do – forever.”