DrinkPure has reached initial goal on Indigogo within two weeks

Roughly 780 million people around the world have no access to clean drinking water. Researchers from a group led by Prof. Wendelin Stark, head of the Functional Materials Laboratory, decided to attempt to tackle this major issue.

They developed a fundamentally new process to produce polymer membranes with two main advantages. Namely, the reduction of costs for polymer membrane production and easy control over the pore size. Once this central part obtained, they had to design the actual filter. Because they were especially targeting use for development aid, researchers decided that features such as easy utilization, lightweight or high flow, for instance, were essential. This resulted in a filter that weighs less than 100 grams and removes bacteria, chemicals and odors for at least about 300 liters. In their first design, filters are screwed on top of plastic bottles and water passes through merely by pressing the bottle. The innovation was called Drinkpure.

The team did not want to stop there and started a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo (igg.me/at/drinkpure). They began with an initial goal of 40,000$ to buy the injection molding tools to produce DrinkPure. Having reached the first goal within two weeks, they went further by setting larger goals. The new ones are more ambitious and target humanitarian aid. For instance, their next goal is to collect the money necessary to produce the filters required to provide water to 1000 people in Mali. The team sees even further and hopes to reach their final goal which consists in establishing a complete manufacturing plant in Mali to bring jobs and independence vis-à-vis the NGOs to the local inhabitants.