Solar Water Solutions – Clean water with just sun

The SWS Story

Solar Water Solutions (SWS) can turn seawater, or any dirty water into drinking water with solar power. No more diesel-powered purification plants, no more transporting of water, no more plastic bottles. Water is now affordable, safe, and sustainable.

Heikki Pohjola, a Finnish engineer, invented the solution already in 2014. After seeing the results of his laboratory tests, his son Antti Pohjola realized the importance of the innovation.

Antti had made a 20-year career in finance, investing in emerging markets, and thus understood how affordable clean water could revolutionize local economies all over the world.

Today, Antti is the CEO of Solar Water Solutions. All four Pohjola siblings work for the family enterprise, with five top experts from various fields.

What is the problem that Solar Water Solution solves?

Building water infrastructure in remote places is very expensive.

Once a water purification plant is ready, it needs a lot of electricity. In remote locations such as islands, deserts, and rural areas, the most common source of energy is diesel generators. They have high fuel costs, high CO2 emissions, and transporting diesel is burdensome, too. If you don’t make your water, you need to transport it, which is even more expensive than making water and has an even larger carbon footprint. Water is heavy, and we all need a lot of it – for drinking, for washing, and irrigation.

Clean water is needed now more than ever because over 4 billion people lack access to safe water services, and we fight COVID-19 by washing hands.

To make things worse, boreholes all over the world are getting increasingly saline or contaminated with bacteria, chemicals, viruses, and other impurities. In the future, clean water will get even more scarce due to population growth, climate change, and natural disasters.

Whose problem is it?

Everybody needs clean water, both the rich and the poor.

Think of an exclusive eco-resort or a cruise ship company that produces water with diesel generators. Doesn’t sound right, does it? Climate awareness increases the demand for sustainable solutions everywhere – from camps and gated communities to farms and factories.

In developing countries, 4 500 children die every day because of water-related issues. Millions of women spend several hours every day carrying water to their families. The cost of water can carve up to 70 % of household income.

Affordable clean water can save lives, contribute to gender equality, release time for productive tasks and studies, and enable new business models.

SWS has the potential to revolutionize local economies both in the developing world and in the water-thirsty regions globally. That is our mission. 

How does it work?

The most common and efficient way to purify water is reverse osmosis. The process needs constant pressure, which requires constant electric power. The problem with solar energy has been, that its nature is to be variable.

SWS’s patented technology creates constant pressure even when the weather gets cloudy. That’s why only Solar Water Solutions can make water with solar energy without batteries. SWS’s technology is also mechanical, which makes it robust and saves the cost of computer systems. Batteries and complex computer systems make the initial investment in other solar-powered reverse osmosis systems 2–3 times higher.

Zero battery investments and zero running costs result in the lowest life-cycle costs.

Clean drinking water can be produced for under 1 euro per 1000 liters even on a very remote island in the Caribbean, in the Indian Ocean, or South East Asia.

The most common sources in such locations are seawater and contaminated boreholes, but any lake, river, or well will do. The process removes all salt, bacteria, viruses, and chemicals and leaves a neutral taste.

Why would I invest in Solar Water Solutions?

• SWS has barely started sales efforts. Yet, it has already sold 120 units on four continents.
• The need for safe drinking water is global. The total of the Off-Grid Zero Emissions Desalination market will reach $ 35 bn by 2028. Solar Water Solutions targets to tap a 3 percent market share of this market by 2028 and have revenue of over 100 M€ by 2025.
• Solar Water Solutions targets to be profitable in 2020. The revenue target for 2020 is 1.6 M€ and over 8 M€ for 2022.
• Exit opportunity for investors: Solar Water Solutions is a potential investment target to a private equity company or water fund in 2-3 years. Another option as an EXIT strategy for investors is an IPO after 2023. Both options would enable a fast global scale up.

•  The employee-entrepreneurs of the company are motivated by both the mission of the company and financial benefits.

Some case examples

Solar Water ATM, Kenya – Completed

SWS's plants can be completed with Solar Water ATMs, which creates a business opportunity for infrastructure investors and franchise entrepreneurs. Instead of paying for bottled water, people in Kenya are buying water from Solar Water ATMs using mobile payments. We have completed projects in two communities, yet the country's coastal and rural areas need 7 000 similar plants by 2025.

University Campus, Namibia – Completed

The University of Namibia has an SWS plant that makes 25 000 liters of clean water every day from the Atlantic Ocean. The campus is situated on the shore, which provides an infinite, yet a saline source of water to be purified.

Government Farm, Abu Dhabi – Completed

The Ministry of Food of Abu Dhabi has its proprietary food farm. The farm has an SWS plant that provides clean water for irrigation. A high saline borehole serves as the source of water.

Private Villas, Baltic Sea – Completed

The Baltic Sea, surrounded by Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, and the Baltic countries, has a unique water type called brackish water. It is less saline than ocean water, yet it needs to be purified. The shores and the islands are dotted with private villas that need clean water. SWS has completed over 80 projects in the area.

Riverside Community, Vietnam – Completed

Many highly populated communities in emerging markets lack municipal water infrastructure and grid connections. SWS’s stand-alone decentralized system produces affordable clean water from a polluted river.

Government Preparedness, Sweden – Under Construction

The Swedish government has started to pay increasing attention to water readiness and self-sufficiency in potential crises. Solar Water Solution will deliver a water purification system for field use to the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency.

Eco Hotel, Bali – Under Construction

The tourism industry is under increasing pressure to make recreational travel more sustainable. SWS’s first order from the hotel sector is a solar-powered water purification plant by an eco-resort in Bali. Once installed, the resort will be self-sufficient and carbon neutral when it comes to drinking water. The need for plastic water bottles will also come to an end.