News
April 2021
“condensation step will be the performance-limiting factor when it comes to scaling up water production technologies, like solar water purification and water-from-air harvesting. When these techniques release large quantities of water vapor, active cooling is often needed to quickly condense the vapor to keep up with the rate at which it’s generated.”
April 2021
“We have worked on solar-driven water evaporation technologies in the past years,” says Qiaoqiang Gan, PhD, professor of electrical engineering at UB and a leading corresponding author. “We are now addressing the second half of the water cycle, condensation.”
April 2021
“We have worked on solar-driven water evaporation technologies in the past years,” says Qiaoqiang Gan, professor of electrical engineering at the University at Buffalo and a leading corresponding author of a paper on the work. “We are now addressing the second half of the water cycle, condensation.”
March 2021
“We have worked on solar-driven water evaporation technologies in the past years,” says Qiaoqiang Gan, PhD, professor of electrical engineering at UB and a leading corresponding author. “We are now addressing the second half of the water cycle, condensation.”
March 2021
Access to clean water is a huge issue across the globe. Even in areas with water resources, a lack of infrastructure or reliable energy means purifying that water is sometimes extremely difficult. That’s why a water vapor condenser designed by University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers could be revolutionary. Unlike other radiative vapor condensers which can only operate at night, the new design works in direct sunlight and requires no energy input.
March 2021
Recently, researchers have been exploring how to turbo charge a passive cooling technique — known as radiative or sky cooling — with sun-blocking, nanomaterials that emit heat away from building rooftops. While progress has been made, this eco-friendly technology isn’t commonplace because researchers have struggled to maximize the materials’ cooling capabilities.
February 2021
Baking in direct sunlight, an unorthodox cooling device both captures solar heat and keeps itself substantially cooler than the surrounding air — without the need for an external power source.
February 2021
Baking in direct sunlight, an unorthodox cooling device both captures solar heat and keeps itself substantially cooler than the surrounding air — without the need for an external power source.
February 2021
Air conditioners and other cooling systems are among our biggest consumers of electricity, so finding ways to passively cool buildings will be important in our increasingly warmer future. Now, researchers at the University at Buffalo have developed a prototype hybrid device that can not only cool buildings drastically without using electricity, it can capture solar energy to heat water.
February 2021
A team from the University at Buffalo were able to turbo charge a passive cooling technique – known as radiative sky cooling – by using a sun-blocking nanomaterial.
February 2021
Researchers from the University of Buffalo have now developed a new prototype technology that utilizes a hybrid concentration of solar heating and radiative cooling. This technology will drastically cool buildings and spaces while capturing solar energy to provide heat, all without relying on electricity.
NOV 2, 2020
University at Buffalo researchers are working on a new way to use free solar power to provide clean water, potentially changing many aspects of life in the Third World and elsewhere.
October 2020
University at Buffalo engineering researchers have received federal support to develop a portable solar still — a device that generates clean water using the power of the sun.
October 2018
University at Buffalo researchers using energy from the sun to produce drinking water at record-breaking rates and with near-perfect efficiency.
October 2018
A video interview with Dr.Gan and Dr.Song on Likable Science. We discuss the development of our simple, robust, inexpensive passive solar still that operates at high efficiency. It shows great promise to enhance access to potable water, especially for residents of islands.
February 2018
Sunny Clean Water LLC has received a $225,000 Phase I SBIR award from the NSF
September 2017
Sunny Clean Water has been accepted into the final round of the Ocean Exchange pitch competition!
Nexus ny phase 2
May 2017
We are happy to announce that we have been accepted into the second phase of the NEXUS NY program. Phase 2 awards us $40,000 in funding from NYSERDA, allowing us to further de-risk our technology through engineering consultation, secure key commercialization partners, and develop our next generation array style prototype. Phase 2 of this program also gives us the opportunity to pitch in front of Venture Capitalists and industry partners from New York State.
February 2017
For for centuries people have used sunlight to filter water but a new solar technology could be a game changer
February 2017
One-tenth of the world’s population lacks clean water. Now, researchers report they have developed a cheap solar still, which uses sunlight to purify dirty water up to four times faster than a current commercial version. The raw materials cost less than $2 per square meter. The technology will “allow people to generate their own drinking water much like they generate their own power via solar panels on their house roof,” says Zhejun Liu, a visiting scholar at the State University of New York (SUNY) in Buffalo and one of the study’s co-authors.
February 2017
AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — “We know that water quality is one of the most important things to our health, even in the U.S. we still have a lot of water contamination accidents,” said Qiaoqiang Gan, University at Buffalo Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering.
Acceptance into Phase 1 of NEXUS NY
January 2017
NEXUS NY is a clean energy seed accelerator sponsored by the state of New York. Phase 1 gives us $10,000 in funding to evaluate problem solution fit so we can de-risk the business opportunity. We will be mentored in lean startup techniques from veteran entrepreneurs who have worked in the clean energy sector.
January 2017
BUFFALO, N.Y. — You’ve seen Bear Grylls turn foul water into drinking water with little more than sunlight and plastic. Now, academics have added a third element — carbon-dipped paper — that may turn this survival tactic into a highly efficient and inexpensive way to turn saltwater and contaminated water into potable water for personal use.