Nobel-winning chemist scales desert-air water harvester to container size

In a 2023 field test in Death Valley, a handheld water harvester designed by UC Berkeley chemist Omar Yaghi used the aluminium-based metal-organic framework MOF-303 to pull moisture from extremely dry air, collecting it as liquid during the day. The material captures water molecules at night when humidity rises slightly, then releases them when heated by sunlight, allowing condensation on a cooled surface. This follows earlier 2017 research with MIT engineers that used the more expensive MOF-801, which produced about 2.8 L per kilogram of material under low humidity.

MOF-303 costs far less and delivers higher yields due to its chemistry. Yaghi, a 2025 Nobel laureate, says the prototype was only a proof of concept; his firm Atoco has since expanded the design into a modular container roughly the size of a 20-foot shipping box. Trials in Death Valley’s scorching, near-zero-percent humidity have reportedly confirmed the larger unit’s ability to generate up to 1,000 L of potable water each day. The development demonstrates how metal-organic frameworks can turn desert air into a reliable water source.