This Bottle Turns Air Into Drinking Water

Jesus is said to have turned water into wine. Hell, a little dab of oil is supposed to have burned for eight days, right? So should we be surprised when an Austrian industrial designer says he can turn air into water?

Well, that's exactly what Kristof Reteza says he has done. Reteza is the brains behind Fontus, an Austrian company which has developed Airo, a new self-filling water bottle, and Ryde, a version of that bottle meant for cycling-specific use.

Pitched as the solution for adventurers who want to be free from the fear or running out of water in the wild, the Fontus devices are able to produce about a half a quart of water in an hour. That's in ideal conditions, when the air is hot and humid. The Fontus devices work best where air humidity is high.

The developers believe that in addition to recreational use, the device could be an important tool in the developing world. They say, "Fontus Ryde and Airo might be a clever way of acquiring fresh water in regions of the world where groundwater is scarce." Retezar points out that "According to UN statistics, more than 2 billion people live in regions with water scarcity…Water scarcity may be the most underestimated resource issue facing the world today." The Fontus devices could help alleviate that problem, he believes.

How do these devices accomplish this remarkable—nay, Biblical—feat? The bottle uses solar energy to create a condensation chamber. It then puts the humid air through a series of "elements" that convert the air into drinking water.

Worried about contaminants in the air? No prob—filters in the system are said to remove dirt and bugs.

Fontus, the company, is still in its startup phase, according to their website. The inventors are hoping to use crowdfunding to build a business that markets and produces the miraculous device. They're hoping to sell it for less than $100 and have it on shelves before the end of 2016.

"We make water out of light and air," the company says. Sounds like a pretty cool product. Or the start of a new world religion. Just saying.