WaterLight is a remarkable device created by Colombian start-up E-Dina, meant to help deliver clean light to some of the estimated 840 million people around the globe without access to reliable electricity.
The small lantern is remarkable for its simplicity and fuel source – seawater. The WaterLight uses magnesium to react with the electrolytes in seawater, creating clean LED light that works for up to 45 days, depending on use.
And while light output is relatively small, it’s a game changer for communities that have had to rely solely on candlelight or campfire to perform tasks and chores.
Created in collaboration with the Colombian division of creative agency Wunderman Thompson, we’re amazed at this simple yet profoundly useful technology.
“WaterLight can be more efficient than solar energy lanterns because it regenerates instantly,” said Pipe Ruiz Pineda, executive creative director of Wunderman Thompson Colombia.
“Once filled with water, the energy delivery is immediate while solar lanterns need to transform solar energy to alternative energy to charge batteries and they only work if there is sun.”
The WaterLight can even work using urine, in emergency situations, using the same process of reacting electrolytes with magnesium. In essence, it’s a miniature magnesium fuel cell.
Learn more about this promising device on Dezeen and FastCompany:
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