Roca Water is on a mission to unlock the potential of water desalination by developing a revolutionary desalination battery. Roca Water’s technology combines salt removal, energy generation and storage, and commodity chemical production to address challenges at the water-energy nexus.
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Margaret Lumley
Margaret Lumley is founder and CEO of Roca Water, where she is working to develop a revolutionary energy-efficient water desalination technology. Lumley has spent the last eight years tackling challenges at the water-energy nexus as an electrochemistry researcher. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
TECHNOLOGY
Critical Need
A staggering 800 million people currently lack sufficient access to fresh water, and global water demand is expected to increase by 70 percent over the next 30 years. At the same time, pervasive drought conditions, climate change, and anthropogenic activities are causing existing water sources to get saltier. Water desalination plays a central role in addressing issues related to both water scarcity and water quality. However, desalination is failing to live up to its full potential; its high energy requirements and the production of a concentrated waste product (brine) make desalination impractical for many applications.
Technology Vision
Conventional rechargeable batteries rely on the movement of ions to store and release energy. Roca Water applies the same principles to remove salt ions from water through a device called a desalination battery, which combines the functions of desalination with energy storage and release. The removed salt is also converted into valuable chemicals, creating a sustainable resource recovery cycle and eliminating the production of brine waste. Roca Water’s innovative electrode fabrication process has enabled the construction of a device with exceptional stability and energy-efficiency, making desalination accessible in places where it’s not today.
Potential for Impact
Roca Water will expand global access to affordable clean water, which is a basic human right and a necessity for all industries. By combining the functions of salt removal, energy generation and storage, and commodity chemical production, Roca Water is making desalination a more attractive water production solution. The desalination battery will also harness underutilized minerals in saline water to produce the commodity chemicals chlorine and sodium hydroxide, which are required for industrial applications ranging from water disinfection to soap and paper production. Finally, the desalination battery is ideal for integration with renewables as an alternative energy storage system to achieve water security and resiliency.