Page 37 - DHCI Magazine

When art and innovation meet
As a sculptor, Ap Verheggen has always been highly fascinated by nature and he would travel the world to link his art projects with nature. During one of his travels in the north polar region, he was confronted with melting icecaps and the dramatic consequences for the local Inuit population. Refusing to see the ever-increasing heat of the sun solely
as a threat, Ap Verheggen came up with a solution that would use sunlight to create water: solar-powered condensation. His initial innovation, The SunGlacier itself, was never realised, but the SunGlacier project took off in a different direction and soon he created the first ever off-grid solar-powered potable water production machine.
The ever growing waterfall
The Droppler20 prototype is designed to autonomously produce up to 30 litres of clean water per day and its compactness and sturdiness make it suitable for transportation.
Innovation steps towards impact:
It creates an ice-cold waterfall in which air is pumped. The water vapour condenses and the waterfall thus grows, as it were, during its fall. This is the unique growing waterfall principle which SunGlacier got patented.
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As an artist, Ap Verheggen looked externally for help that could help him realise his dreams. He also worked together with his friend, Peter van Geloven, who possesses more of the technical expertise that was required to make the project happen. SunGlacier also got support from DCHI and the Dutch Ministry of Defence. Both have supported the development of the Droppler20 and other prototypes as the SunGlacier technology has the potential to support humanitarian operations as well as military bases in desert-like conditions, such as in Mali. The latest Droppler20 was tested in a facility provided by the Ministry of
Defence.
Dreaming to prevent
nightmares
The objective for the Droppler20
is to provide households with
enough clean and potable water.
However, Ap Verheggen is a big dreamer as he hopes to eventually provide entire villages with water and perhaps, at one point, to construct an entire Droppler Dome in the hot desert. The SunGlacier machine was present in the Dutch Pavilion at the 21 World Expo in Dubai. They managed to do what was deemed impossible: to create a daily rain shower from the dry desert air, producing hundreds of litres of fresh and cold water per day from the surrounding dessert air.
Read more:
Want
How can we create water in the desert?
How can we fight climate change through a positive perspective rather than a negative perspective?
FInd
Dierent prototypes
“Creativity led to innovation
and together with partner Peter van Geloven, and backed by institutions such as the Ministry of Defence and the Dutch Coalition for Humanitarian Innovation SunGlacier created many different prototypes, including the latest Droppler20.”
Get
Showcase innovative properties
“SunGlacier has been covered worldwide by renowned media outlets such as Reuters and The New York Times. SunGlacier will also showcase its innovative properties at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai (postponed to 2021).”
Scale
Construct an entire Dome in a hot desert
“Ap Verheggen, Artist & Director of Communication at SunGlacier is a big dreamer as he hopes
to eventually provide entire villages with water and perhaps, at one point, to construct an entire Droppler Dome in a hot desert.”
Dutch Coalition for Humanitarian Innovation
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COALITION SPOTLIGHT