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NanotechProgress

MOF water harvesting

Field trial

What happened

UC Berkeley researchers tested a prototype harvester in a backyard in Scottsdale, Arizona, where humidity fell as low as 8% in the day, and collected drinkable water each day-night cycle.

Why it matters

Drinking water from dry desert air, powered only by sunlight.

University of California, 14 June 2018
How far from your life

Real-world testing

Water from desert air with MOFs is on step 3 of 5. Could reach you in a few years if the tests go well.

Source
“to as low as 8 percent during the day,”University of California, 14 June 2018

The bigger picture

More on MOF water harvesting

On step 3 of 5: Real-world testing. Everything we track on it

  1. On the record

    The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for metal-organic frameworks named harvesting water from desert air among their uses.

    Nobel Prize press release, 8 Oct 2025