By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-editor
ZERO MASS Water, Inc., a US-based company that produces drinking water from the air using energy from the sun, plans to expand the installation of its “hydropanels” throughout the Philippines after forging partnerships with public and private sector entities.
“Since our launch in June, we’ve done a deal with Ayala Land. So now we’ve installed them [hydropanels] on the rooftop of the Seda Vertis Hotel in Quezon City,” said Robert Bartrop, executive vice-president global business development at Zero Mass Water, in an interview.
The installation for Ayala Land, Inc.’s (ALI) hotel is the latest partnership that the company forged after it installed the panels on the rooftop of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in June this year.
For Seda Hotel in Vertis North, Zero Mass Water’s installation produces drinking water that can displace 2,000 plastic bottles of water monthly.
“We’ve installed one array of six panels on the roof of the Seda Vertis,” he said about the project that serves the hotel’s rooftop bar, among others.
“We’re looking for expanded models for more rooms and more facilities given the size of their (Ayala Land’s) portfolio. They’ve got a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2022 and so this product fits really well,” Mr. Bartrop said.
Zero Mass Water’s “Source Hydropanel” is an off-grid, solar-powered technology that extracts water vapor from the air into a proprietary absorbent material. The water flows into a reservoir where it is mineralized with calcium and magnesium. The last process is meant to ensure the water meets health and taste considerations.
The technology was developed by the company and brought to the country in collaboration with its local partner Green Heat Corp. They installed the four hydropanels on the rooftop of ADB’s headquarters in Mandaluyong City. Each hydropanel is capable of producing up to 5 liters of potable water per day.
Asked about partnerships with other private companies, Mr. Bartrop said: “Some are confidential but we hope to be very active in the new site… for the next few months.”
“We’re working very actively at the moment… We’re expanding our distribution in the Philippines and engaging with people,” he said, adding that the company had received approaches from developers, individuals and families for similar partnerships.
Mr. Bartrop said the company was halfway through a similar installation in partnership with the National Electrification Administration (NEA). The project was announced in June during the launch of ADB’s rooftop hydropanels.
The contract with NEA calls for the installation of 40 hydropanels within the franchises of electric cooperatives in eight Philippine provinces, namely: Pangasinan, Bukidnon, Agusan del Sur, Davao del Sur, Bohol, Samar, Davao del Norte and Misamis Occidental.
