Las Vegas-based WAVR Technologies can actually turn air into water. The deep tech startup that spun out of UNLV is commercializing atmospheric water harvesting systems that extract water directly from the air — even in desert environments at humidity levels as low as 10 percent.

The arid desert landscape of Death Valley is not the obvious place to find water. Yet it’s here, in one of the planet’s hottest and driest places, that Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers decided to test new technology to pull drinking water from an unconventional source: the air.

The global water system is showing its fragility, and water resilience is fast becoming a defining challenge for economies and investors. UN-Water estimates two-thirds of the world’s population faces shortages for at least a month each year. Analysis by CDP warns that companies could face $225 billion in costs from water-related risks in the short term, while as much as $2.5 trillion in corporate revenue is at risk if water scarcity disrupts supply chains and markets.

It might sound like science fiction, but for one startup in the valley, atmospheric water harvesting is reality. In the desert valley of Las Vegas, where water is as precious as gold, a team of researchers at WAVR is working to turn the air we breathe into the water we drink.

Those who have taken a road trip through the Southwest know that it is a very unique desert region, scattered with extraordinary canyons and lofty plateaus. As with any arid region, rainfall is scarce and temperatures are sky-high, making droughts inevitable. Thankfully, a bio-inspired film has been engineered by innovative minds, which pulls gallons of water per day by ‘drinking’ air like plants.

Is Las Vegas the new Silicon Valley? A new venture fund is giving local start-up companies the money they need to succeed.

Turning dry desert air into drinkable water once sounded like something from a sci-fi movie. Now, it’s becoming reality—thanks to a breakthrough from researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. As water supplies shrink across the region due to drought and climate change, scientists have taken a huge step toward creating a sustainable water source from an unlikely place: the air.

The American Southwest is running dry—literally. Lake Mead, the lifeline of Las Vegas, is shrinking at an alarming rate, and the city that defied nature is now facing one of its toughest challenges yet. But in true Vegas fashion, this city of reinvention is fighting back. From pioneering water conservation efforts to groundbreaking innovations like WAVR, a system that harvests water straight from the air, scientists and engineers are racing against time to secure the region’s future. Meanwhile, researchers are turning to an unlikely hero—cacti—as a potential solution for drought-resistant agriculture and even biofuel.