Bogata, Columbia
“With one charge, it can be used for around 45 days, depending on how much you use it,” says Pipe Ruiz, an executive creative director for Wunderman Thompson Colombia.
New York Creative agency Wunderman Thompson and the Bogota-based renewable energy startup E-Dina have designed new eco-energy technology for off-the-grid communities in the poorest regions of the world with limited access to electricity.
WaterLight is a revolutionary device that can transform saltwater into life-changing electrical power for millions.
The device creates electricity through a chemical reaction between ocean water and magnesium.
WaterLight, which weighs around 2 kilos, is designed to hold two cups of ocean water.
Through ionization, when electrolytes in the water react with magnesium the simple reaction generates electricity for illumination.
When the light needs another charge, it gets refilled with saltwater.
Because the process separates salt from water, the seawater in the device can also later be used for cooking.
WaterLight lasts for 5,600 hours, or two to three years of use, and then can be recycled.
The idea is to replace traditional kerosene lanterns; and unlike solar light, the device charges instantly when it is filled with water.
WaterLight will help workers who work at night in off-electric grid locations, as well as children who study at night or craftspeople that craft in the dark to fulfill their orders.
And almost miraculously, the lantern can slowly recharge a mobile phone or a small radio.
“We see that millions of people around the world are without access to electricity on the coasts,” Ruiz says.
“But actually, they do have access to the oceans.”
According to the World Health Organization, at least 840 million people around the world are without access to electricity, hindering their ability to work beyond daylight hours, carry out essential tasks and stay connected to the wider world.
With electricity demand expected to increase by 70% by 2035, and traditional fossil fuels estimated to be depleted in the next 52 years, a solution is urgently needed.
On the Guajira Peninsula, a coastal desert at the northernmost tip of South America and one of the poorest places on the continent, residents have recently started testing small lanterns that charge on something available in abundance: saltwater.
E-Dina and Wunderman Thompson Colombia turned to the Wayúu tribe, an indigenous community living along the Colombia and Venezuela border, to test the devices using them on boats to make it possible to fish at night.
With WaterLight, the Wayúu can transform this abundant natural resource into a safe, sustainable way to power their lives, from night fishing to charging mobile phones, without the need to travel for miles, creating a sense of connection within the community and to the wider world.
The designers plan to distribute the lights to poor coastal communities through NGOs and governments.
At its early stages, the cost ranges from $60-$100 per light, versus solar lights that cost multiple times less.
Project: WaterLight
Designers: Wunderman Thompson LLC.
Manufacture: E-Dina Zona Fanca SAS
