Host: Antoine Walter
Guest: Navkaran Singh Bagga | Founder & CEO | Akvo Atmospheric Water Systems
Category: 🤖 Technology
Podcast’s Essential Bites:
[7:53] “The world in general can't complain about a lack of water. […] The challenge [is] how accessible potable water is, […] whether it is a lack of potable water, or the lack of good quality potable water. […] And with Akvo the idea was that […] the basic core technology is a decentralized system. […] My core belief is that [an] atmospheric water generator is to water what solar power is to power. You can always go modular, you can go decentralized, you don't need to be feeding a grid, you don't need to be feeding a central source.”
[10:09] “The calculation [of how much water can be used for atmospheric water generators] is entirely based on how much water vapor is present in the air in totality, whether it's about the clouds, whether it's about the humidity in your room, or the humidity in ambient air. […] [This] kind of water [is] always present in the environment. […] It is literally an unlimited source of water.”
[11:28] “Wastewater recycling or […] desalination models […] require a lot of infrastructure. […] So I don't think the issue is with water in general. The whole idea is that the idea of making this particular technology accessible, requires a certain amount of huge infrastructure spending, whether it's through large corporations or through government. The idea with Akvo water is that it's a decentralized system. It doesn't require transmission, which means you can literally put the water in people's hands, you can buy a machine plugging into the wall, and have water generated from [that] minute […]. So that kind of power is instant.”
[16:47] “The biggest market we have is in South India, in Chennai, because that's where people are used to paying for water in the metro cities.”
[20:05] “The future is a combination of different technologies which can come together. […] I personally believe that in the developing world, not so much in the developed world, the idea is to […] make the urban areas sustainable first, because that's where the highest level of consumption is. What happens in a place [like] India is because of the large tax paying population lives in cities [that puts] pressure on cities to […] ramp up urban development. […] And for that reason, the rural areas get neglected, because it's a trickle down effect.”
[28:15] “The problem with the water industry in general in the developing world is that people aren't used to water bills. […] The challenge today is how do you take something that [was] “free”, and start saying you have to pay for this now. […] We're trying to make money off the technology we developed. We're not here to sell you water. We try to change the way things are done. So the whole question of morality, the question of ethics, I don't think are ever attached to any other commodity in the world, [the way they] are associated [with] water.”
Rating: 💧💧
🎙️ Full Episode: Apple | Spotify
🕰️ 48 min | 🗓️ 06/30/2021
✅ Time saved: 46 min
Additional Links:
Making Water From Air | Navkaran Singh Bagga | TEDxSIBMBengaluru
