Zimbabwean innovator turns air into drinking water

A Zimbabwean innovator is pioneering a breakthrough that could revolutionize access to clean drinking water across Africa. Jimson Chingore, a tech entrepreneur based in South Africa, has unveiled a futuristic system that extracts potable water directly from the air, offering a potential solution to the continent's worsening water crisis.

Chingore's company, Elemen Tec, showcased the technology at the ongoing Global Expo Botswana 2025, highlighting its atmospheric water harvesting and solar distillation systems. "This model extracts liquid water from the air's moisture using active refrigeration. We cool air below its dew point and collect pure water," Chingore explained to Zimpapers.

The invention, hailed as a "decentralised miracle," is especially beneficial for communities living off-grid or in arid regions. Elemen Tec's solar distillation model can also purify salty or contaminated water, making it ideal for rural populations, mining operations, and corporate facilities struggling with conventional water treatment.

Zimbabwe's participation in the Gaborone expo is significant, with 20 local companies exhibiting innovations ranging from green energy solutions to smart technologies, signaling the country's growing footprint in Africa's tech and industrial sectors.

Experts stress the urgency of solutions like Chingore's, noting that one in three Africans still lacks access to safe drinking water. Climate change, weak infrastructure, rapid population growth, and governance challenges have compounded the crisis, disproportionately affecting women and girls who bear the burden of collecting water daily.

"These challenges slow down economic development and hit hardest on women and girls who walk long distances daily to fetch water," Chingore noted.

With his atmospheric water harvesting and solar distillation systems, Chingore is demonstrating that hope—and clean water—can literally rise from thin air.